Eating Disorders

Paper Summary:

The paper addresses the topic of eating disorders and explains that there are three well-known eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. The author relates that all of these disorders are now recognized as diseases and they have spread from America around the world as women and girls become obsessed about their weight and body image. The paper illustrates how eating disorders are dangerous and can be fatal if left untreated. The paper concludes that a shift in public awareness and understanding can help control these diseases.

From the Paper:

"Perhaps the most well known eating disorder is anorexia nervosa, usually referred to as anorexia. It has also been known as the "starving disease." Women (and some men) literally eat next to nothing, as they are obsessed with gaining weight and appearing fat or overweight. Many people do not know anorexia has been written about for centuries, but it is more common today because of societal demands on women to be thin. A typical anorexic will eat almost nothing and/or exercise compulsively to sustain a body weight that is at least 85 percent under what doctors consider to be normal body weight. In addition, anorexics usually do not see themselves as too thin, and they worry about gaining any amount of weight, even a pound. They do not see reality, and obsess about being fat, even when they are almost skeletons. In older girls and women, anorexia can also affect monthly menstrual cycles, causing them to disappear (Smolak, Levine, and Striegel-Moore xvi). For a diagnosis, all of these items must be present, and the menstrual cycles must have ceased for at least three months."

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