Susan Child December 4, 2013 Intro to Writing 8-8:50 Professor Celestino Final Argument Essay

Eating Disorders Many people are unsatisfied with how they look. It is estimated that Ninety-seven percent of women will say something negative about their body every day (King). Each year many people are diagnosed with eating disorders. There are several different kinds of eating disorders out there in the world. Two of the most noted are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is a disorder where people starve themselves to death, and bulimia is where you stuff yourself and then make yourself gag and throw up to get rid of it. There are many reasons people suffer from eating disorders, including pressures from the media, sports coaches, parents, and even the individual themselves. By curing eating disorders adolescents can live longer. The media has a far- reaching influence on how people view themselves. Research shows the more women see pictures of perfect women in the media, the more they believe they should look like that. (King). Because of them we have an image in our head of what we need to look like to be considered beautiful. What some people dont know is that images in magazines are photo shopped to make the models look the way the media thinks they should. Also, there have been some actors/actresses who have publicized eating disorders and people look up to them for that, and want to be just like them, even if it includes unhealthy or extreme dieting.

In addition to societal pressures to be perfect, adolescents fed these pressures in other areas of their lives, while growing up many parents sign their kids up to be on a sports team so they can learn important skills, like how to work with others. They may join school sports teams or community leagues. We see children in sports like gymnastics, skating and ballet where they get clear messages that how tall they are and how heavy they are will affect whether they can be competitive, (Chung). As these kids progress through adolescence, more pressure is put on them, and more is expected of them. There are some coaches who try to live their dreams vicariously through the students they coach because they want their students to do better than they did; the coaches tell the kids that their performance and how competitive they can be depends on them and the choices they make. Another key factor in development of eating disorders is parental influence and example. Sometimes parents dont realize that if they diet, then their kids might try dieting to be just like their parents. If young kids diet when they dont actually need to, then they are depriving themselves of the nutrition they need to grow and develop. Focus on the health properties and nutritional value of foods instead of what they will do to your backside or thighs (King). You can still be healthy even if you are somewhat overweight, as long as you eat well and get the recommended amount of exercise for someone in your age range. Your body needs food to survive and food gives us energy. There are increasingly more kids each year who suffer from eating disorders; this is worrisome because their bodies are still developing. Dr. Leora Pinhas, who heads the eating disorders program at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, said she is seeing more younger children in her program now compared to five years ago when the majority of her in-patients were teens (Chung). If they dont get enough calcium, their bones wont be strong and so they will break easier. They will

also be prone to more problems later in life, like osteoporosis and fractures. If you are pregnant, you are supposed to be eating for yourself and the baby or babies, because they take what they need from the mother and the mother gets whatever the baby/babies dont take. These needs carry over into pregnancy when the mother is supposed to be consuming enough calories for her and her growing baby. A common misconception about eating disorders is that they only affect women. However, men can suffer from eating disorders as well. a 2007 Harvard study based on national survey data found that men are one-third as likely as women to have anorexia or bulimia and more than half as likely to have a binge eating disorder, (Weintraub). Men are less likely to get help with eating disorders because they are afraid it will make them seem less manly, or weak, and they like 99.9% of people are afraid of what other people will think of them for suffering from what many people refer to as a womans problem. Usually when fighting addictions, people try to avoid the substance, but that just isnt an option when it comes to the topic of food, because we all need to eat each and every day, we as college students need to make good and healthy choices when it comes to food because what we are eating now plays into our future. The support available for those battling with eating disorders is extensive. There are groups, message boards, and places that will help people realize the problem they are having and then get help with it. its important that there are always people to talk to about this. There are message boards and family and friends. And keep focus on your future. The thing about anorexia is it strips everything away from you. You need to find value in who you are. (Dutta). Message boards are usually found online, and they are sites where people can talk about their problems or solutions they have found useful for them with their personal situation, they can also

be used to build friendships with others in similar situations. There are hospitals that specialize in getting people with eating disorders help. Its always good to have the support of family and friends to help overcome this problem/hardship in your life. By talking about your problems you can focus on what you can do to change your future, and become a better, healthier version of you. Its a good idea to use message boards because for all we know, someone may have an idea or something that helped them with their eating disorder that we may never think of. By curing eating disorders many people will be able to live longer and have happier, healthier lives. We need to be more aware of peoples problems, as well as our own. Each day instead of looking at all the negatives in our lives and saying something negative about ourselves every day, make a goal to say something positive about yourself. Also try to compliment others, for all you know that could be the highlight of their day and prevent them from inflicting harm upon themselves. We need to be happy with who we are, and not compare ourselves/our bodies to those around us. We are all special in our own way, regardless of whether or not we fit into societys stringent cookie-cutter image.

Works Cited Chung, Amy. Children As Young As Five Seek Eating Disorder Treatment: Doctor. Postmedia News. 08 Aug 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 Oct 2013. Dutta, Kunal. Girls Under 11 Go Without Food to Gain Ideal Shape. The Independent on Sunday. 30 Oct 2011: 10. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 Oct 2013. King, Eloise. 97% of Women Will Say Something Bad About Their Body Today. Sunday Mail (Adelaide). 26 Jun 2011: 6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 Oct 2013. Weintraub, Karen. Its a Guy Thing, Too. Boston Globe. 14 Nov 2011: G.13. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. Oct 2013.