In recent years, there is developed a growing recognition of significance of body image concerns and the increasing rate of clinical eating disorders. The term 'Eating Disorders' means a person who has anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. It makes the publics start to concern about this situation and detecting the prevention of eating disorders. This essay will examine what are eating disorders and the general information about that. Also, it will discuss that what kinds of factors that contribute eating disorders and the prevention of eating disorders. All the information will be related to adults.
             By examining the term 'Eating Disorders', it is generally used to describe eating patterns that out of the normal range. It usually implicates stern restriction of food intake, this is called anorexia nervosa (Grogan 1999). According to Myers (1998), "an eating disorder in which a normal-weight person (usually an adolescent female) diets and becomes significantly (15 percent or more) underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve." (p.371). Moreover, bulimia nervosa is also one kind of eating disorders. Grogan (1999) stated that bulimia nervosa is a regular binge eating followed by 'purging' usually distinguish by ponder vomiting but sometimes using laxatives or vigorous exercise. We read in Myers (1998), "an eating disorder characterized by private, "binge-purge" episodes of overeating, usually of highly caloric foods, followed by vomiting or laxative use." (p.372). These show that eating disorders can be divided into anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In addition, we read in American Psychiatric Association (cited in Beebe, 1994, p.259), "Bulimia nervosa, characterized by recurrent binge eating and compensatory 'purgative' behaviours or strict dieting, ...". Furthermore, as stated in Orbach (cited in Grogan, 1999, p.168), wome...