Molly Soden

Professor Malcom Campbell

UWRT 1104

09/28/17

Topic Proposal: Cultural Perfection

Introduction/Overview

I will be examining the potential increased risks of developing eating disorders in college

students. Eating disorders are psychological disorders identified by abnormal or disturbed eating

habits. They are also characterized by extreme emotions and behaviors related to weight gain and

body image. Eating disorders are common in people of both genders and have life threatening

consequences. These disorders affect both the physical and emotional health of their victims.

There is no identifiable cause of an eating disorder but there are a lot of risk factors. Some of the

psychological risk factors include low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacy, perfectionism,

competitiveness, and a feeling of the need to please. The thought that value and beauty is based

on thinness and outward beauty is an example of a social risk. The medias portrayal of

unrealistic body shapes is another factor that may increase the risk of an eating disorder. Life

events that involve major changes can also trigger eating disorders is other risk factors are

involved.

Moving away to college is a major stepping stone that many adolescents take in preparing

for their futures. In this time, the students are under a lot of pressure while transitioning to their

new lives as college students. Students are introduced to a whirlwind of new emotions while
adapting to the pressures to succeed academically while also being thrown into a completely

different social lifestyle. Students experience many challenges such as increased responsibility

and independence, separation from family and friends, loneliness, and the pressure for social

acceptance and approval. Eating disorders are very common among college students due to the

importance of approval and the lack of a close support system.

I found a lot of my research oline on websites that focus solely on eating disorders such

as eatingdisorderhope.com and eatingdisorders.org.au. I also took into consideration the changes

I endured when first coming to school and sometimes still find myself facing today. There are a

lot of other research materials I would like to look further into like personal blogs,

documentaries, and interviews to better understand eating disorders from the view of someone

who has been diagnosed with one.

There is a lot of controversy over whether or not the media is to blame for a majority of

eating disorders in society. Many people believe the media causes eating disorders while others

believe they only have a small influence on them. There are also debates on what actually

qualifies as an eating disorder. Debates on whether college Greek life has an influence on the

potential risk of eating disorders exist as well. The more dominant people in these conversations

are those directly involved, for example, doctors, family and friends of a victim, the victim

themselves, schoolboards, and those in the media field. The conversations take place many

different places such as tv shows, magazine articles, the news, books, movies, documentaries,

and so on. Eating disorders are a very complex subject and are pretty commonly talked about.
Initial Inquiry Questions

Are eating disorders more prevalent in college students than any other ages? Does Greek life

have an influence on the development of eating disorders? What effect does being in a new

environment have on the development of eating disorders?

My Interest In This Topic:

I am interested in this topic because as a junior in college I have seen and felt all the

pressures students encounter. I myself have struggled with body image and weight as well as

many of my friends. I am also really interested in the correlation between the media and the risk

of eating disorders. Im looking forward to learning more about whether or not there is a

correlation between Greek life and an increase in the risk of eating disorders.

Next Steps

I plan to find personal blogs of those who have had an eating disorder in order to better

understand the personal effects of the diseases and the risk factors they feel helped lead them to

develop them. I also plan to watch different documentaries and look into online research

journals. Interviews with survivors will also help me gain a different perspective on the subject.