Media's Influence On Eating Disorders

One of the most dangerous illnesses in the United States is an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. It is most commonly found in pre-teen and teenaged females. While peer pressure, bullying, or a need for control may influence the eating habits of a young woman, the major factor is the influence of the media. The media distorts how young women feel about their bodies and as a result, they turn to eating disorders in order to achieve their ideal body. The only way to halt the rising numbers of those with an eating disorder is to spread a positive message about body image. Anorexia-nervosa and bulimia-nervosa are widespread across the world, in the United States alone about twenty million females and ten million men are diagnosed with an eating disorder. Eating disorders are any form of severe eating habits. When an eating disorder is diagnosed it will generally fall into one of three different categories: anorexia-nervosa, bulimia-nervosa, or a combination of both. Anorexia-nervosa is defined as the intense fear of gaining weight. Signs of this disorder include excessive exercising, a very rigid diet (which may include obsessively counting calories, and skipping meals. Those with anorexia may only eat foods that are a certain color, have a very “black and white” view of food (food is either

Anorexia leads to osteoporosis, fatigue, hair loss, dry skin, muscle loss, and eventually kidney failure. The effects of bulimia on the body include tooth decay, peptic ulcers, pancreatitis, chronic irregular bowel movements and the inflammation or rupture of the esophagus from the stomach acid brought up by constant vomiting (“Get the Facts on Eating Disorders”). If an individual’s disorder is severe, their body will shut down and they will die. The only way to combat the dangerous illness of anorexia-nervosa and bulimia-nervosa is to spread a positive message on the media rather than a negative