Eating Disorders.

Over the years, there has been an increase in eating disorders.
Much of this has been because of increasing advertisement.
But is this enough to be a big deal?

Research found that when you are exposed to certain advertisement, you feel worse about yourself. This leads to wanting to be thin, which eventually can turn into an eating disorder.

eating disorder (n.) - A potentially life-threatening neurotic condition, that involves insufficient or excessive food intake.

As you see, it's pretty dangerous. If you don't get help, you end up dying, or with permanent brain damage.

The facts
-It are more prevalent in industrialized civilizations, where food is abundant and "thin is in"
-The victims are 90-95% female
-Usually happens during around the ages of 14-18 years old
-Highest death rate of any psychiatric illness
-The starvation it causes changes the ability to think. Your brain ends up deteriorating and has more fluid spots where your brain used to be.

Risk Factors
-Of the female gender
-Dieting
-History of obesity
-History of eating disorders
-History of drug use
-History of depression
-Type 1 diabetes
-Genetics


Anorexia Nervosa

Symptoms:
-Weight is significantly low
-Intense fear of gaining weight
-Distorted perception of your body
-Loss of your period
-Depressed mood
-Social withdrawal
-Irritability
-Insomnia
-Decreased interest in normal activities
-Obsessive food/weight habits
-Hair growth/loss



Anorexia Nervosa is nothing to mess around with. It is basically where you would like to be thin, so much in fact that you starve yourself. Obsessive calorie counting, skipping meals and sudden weight loss are things to watch out for. It is marked by an extreme fear of weight gain or body fat. If the disease gets carried too far, the victim ends up dying. They exercise constantly, do not eat much, and become thinner and thinner.

Now on to my next subject,

Bulimia

Symptoms
-Poor self esteem
-Depression
-Anxiety
-Fear of social situations
-Isolation from friends
-Multiple medical problems
-Reoccurring binge eating
-Vomiting food
-Excessive exercise
-Self evaluation is based on body weight and shape


Bulimia is almost the same as Anorexia, as it has the same outcome if not treated: death. Bulimia is when you eat a lot of food, then throw it all up. Bulimia carries a great deal of shame and most victims hide it from their friends and family. The symptoms are usually difficult to spot, and most victims are left untreated. This causes the person to deteriorate, physically and emotionally. Bulimics may appear underweight, normal weight, or overweight, depending on how much they binge and purge. They may also use laxatives to rid their body of food.


Eating disorders are nothing to mess around with. So why are more and more people developing them? If the media sees this happening, why don't they try to stop? There is one reason only: money. The diet industry rakes in a grand total of $35-40 billion dollars a year! Roughly $12 is spent on marketing and advertising to children, which is about $150 per child. The average person views more than 3,000 ads per day in the media. By the time people graduate from high school, they have been exposed to 15,000 hours with the media, while only having spent 12,000 hours in school. Nice to know that we're being brainwashed rather than taught something.

Thank you for taking your time to read this. I hope you learned something, about how high risk anyone is at for developing and eating disorder. Perhaps you can do something to stop them; speak out, laugh at TV ads, realize how sick looking the stars are. Stay healthy, because thin really isn't in, it's sickly! Everyone will look down upon you for being to thin, they want to see the real you! You're beautiful no matter how you look, and I wish more and more people would realize that.