Eating Disorders at Record Hig

NEWS FLASH : THANKS TO THE MEDIA, EATING DISORDER CASES ARE AT RECORD NUMBERS

Smartly attired in a micro-miniskirt, the young attorney makes her way through the courtroom. It’s Monday night at nine o’ clock. Women across the country are glued to FOX saying to themselves, “Wow, I wish I was as thin as her.” “Perfect” women displayed in the media may appeal to many viewers, but eating disorders are becoming the backlash of the popularity.

Everywhere you turn, on television, in, magazines, and in movies, “thin is in.” TV shows like Ally McBeal, Total Request Live, and countless music video seen on MTV and VH1 are showing females “the average girl.” “The average girl” is shown as beautiful, thin, and essentially- perfect (Cain 2). This is never true and some girls don’t realize it (Cain 2). Actresses also try to keep their “flawless” image up while attending award shows and other public events. Actresses and singers have more recently become a major influence in how people think they should look (Lewis 3). Not only do you watch their music videos and see how they are dressed, just listening to their songs gives you visualization (Lewis 3). Models are on the covers of every magazine in the grocery store (Lewis 3).

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

After several months of not eating and when all fat has been burned off the body, muscles, and internal organs are eaten away and also shut down (Lewis 3). What some young girls especially don’t realize is that a large portion of their favorite singer’s “flawless” features are due to massive amounts of makeup and many times, computer enhancements (Lewis 4).

Anorexia Nervosa may be an alternative to bulimia. First signs of a eating disorder may be a person’s over exaggeration to their weight (especially if they are NOT overweight) (“Bulimia: Life” 1). Movie magazines, TV Guides, and most other magazines use models to front their ads (Lewis 3).

Boyfriends are seeing how they want their women to be. They see what everyone seems to looks like, or act like, or weigh, and they “join the bandwagon” (Lewis 3). More than 10% of all girls from ages 13-19 have eating disorders or have had eating disorder

tendencies (“Bulimia: Life” 1). Acids from throwing up can rot teeth and make fingernails brittle (“AABA” 1). Men look at posters and think “Hey, I wish my girl looked like that. “Women can’t even open a Martha Stewart Living magazine without a beautiful, thin woman jumping off the page,“ says shopper Marie Sanders (Lewis 2)

Eating disorders are a leading health problem among young women today. With bulimia, weight is lost over a period of months to years until the body begins shutting down (“Bulimia: Life” 1). The media has always been a playground for the bold and the beautiful. Over 8 million girls alone tune in to watch music videos everyday.

Approximate Word count = 840
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.