Реферат: Anorexia Nervosa Essay Research Paper In American

Anorexia Nervosa Essay, Research Paper

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 of patients with this life threatening disease is increasing at

an alarming rate. Garfinkle & Garner define anorexia as ⌠an emotional

disorder characterized by an intense fear of becoming obese, lack of self-esteem

and distorted body image which results in self-induced starvation (1990). The

development of this disease generally peaks between the age of 14 to 18 but can

occur later in life and is not uncommon to see it in women in to their early 40`s.

Recent estimates suggest that 1% of American girls between this age span will

develop anorexia to some degree (Garfinkle & Garner, 1990). It has also

propagated in many college campuses, and it is spreading. Studies have shown

that nearly 20% of college women may suffer from anorexia or bulimia (Pirke

& Ploog, 1984). The disease develops slowly over a period of months to years

during which the sufferer changes her eating patterns to a very restricted diet.

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