Eating Disorder

2 Pages 620 Words

Picture yourself looking in a mirror everyday of your life and thinking every part of your body is fat. Thinking that no matter what you do to yourself you will never be happy with your weight. These are situations that many people with eating disorders go through everyday. Individuals who are affected by eating disorders can be as thin as a rail but still think of themselves as overweight. When you hear the words eating disorder, it can bring to mind a number of thoughts. You may remember a story about a girl who starved herself to death, or there may have been pictures of someone that looked like a walking skeleton. An eating disorder in these cases may appear to be a mysterious condition that is striking down children, teenagers, and adults. On the other hand, talk of eating disorders may bring to mind stories of glamorous celebrities who have admitted to suffering from anorexia nervosa or bulimia. Then the condition may be portrayed in the press as a slimming goal that has gone to far or a fad of the rich and famous. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia are serious conditions that need to be addressed on all levels.
The first major eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. The cause of anorexia is unknown, although it is likely that both biological factors and social environment play a part. Anorexia is a condition characterized by intense fear of gaining weight or becoming obese, as well as a distorted body image, leading to an excessive weight loss from restricting food intake and excessive exercise. It usually begins in adolescence, although the symptoms may develop as early as age nine. The news lets everyone know that this disease does not discriminate. The rich and the poor are being affected. Mary-Kate Olsen, one of the most popular teen idols in television recently admitted to having anorexia. If someone that most of America sees as beautiful and rich is battling this disease then what is protecting t...