Anorexia Nervosa A disease of selfimage destroying the body
In American society women are given the message starting from a very young age that in order to be successful and happy, they must be thin. Eating disorders are on the rise, it is not surprising given the value which society places on being thin. Television and magazine advertising that show the image of glamorous and thin model are everywhere. Thousands of teenage girls are starving themselves daily in an effort to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the "ideal" figure. An average female model weighs 23% less than the recommended weight for a woman. Maintaining a weight 20% below your expected body weight fits the criteria for the emotional eating disorder known as anorexia (Pirke & Ploog, 1984). According to medical weight standards, most models fit into the category of being anorexic (Garfinkle & Garner, 1990). Physicians now believe that anorexia has existed for at least 300 years (Pirke & Ploog, 1984). It was however only about one hundred years ago that Professor Ernest Lasegue of the University of Paris finally identified anorexia as an illness (Pirke & Ploog, 1984). The term "anorexia nervosa" literally means nervous lose of appetite. Most researchers and physicians agree that the number
Bibliography ReferencesCove, Dr. This fear becomes so difficult to manage that the sufferer will gradually isolate themselves from other people and social activities. If you know of someone with it or if you just have suspicions please try to get them some help through one of the many organizations out their. The disease develops slowly over a period of months to years during which the sufferer changes her eating patterns to a very restricted diet. Anorexics may also desire control over their lives, including their physical and emotional surroundings. When hospitalized, privileges are sometimes granted as a reward in return for gaining weight. Anorexics feel as if they are heavier than the others around them, and believe the quickest way to lose weight is to simply stop eating. At first, this method may seem to work and the subject loses weight, but their bodies will soon adjust to the lack of food it learns to use the energy it receives more efficiently. Although the mortality rate is high (30% of anorexics will eventually die from the disease), approximately one third are able overcome the disease with psychiatric help (Pirke & Ploog, 1984). I kept journals and in one pathetic passage I described how I went for sixteen days on water, and only about two glasses a day" (1998). The patient may feel fat, even though their body weight is well below the normal weight for their height. Some physicians hospitalize anorexia patients until they are nutritionally stable, while others prefer to work with patients in a more safe and secure family setting. Another factor contributing to anorexia is the need to obtain perfection.
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