Media Effects Eating Disorders In American Population

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate September 2001

download word file, 8 pages 3.0

Hollywood's beauty myth: The smaller you are the better you look.

(insert picture here) After looking at this picture of a thin super model, does it change the way you perceive your body? Do you now see yourself as fat? Did dieting cross your mind at all? If you answered "yes"� to one or all of the above questions, you may be one of the many victims of anorexia nervosa or bulimia. The beauty industry holds much responsibility in the increasing number of eating disorder cases around America due to the fact that they spend billions of dollars on advertising diets, cosmetics, cosmetic surgery, and fashion (etc.) to enhance a woman's appearance to make her look like something she is not.

In general, we see people with eating disorders as thin and pretty while they see themselves as fat and ugly. It is said that "inner demons"� are at work with such disorders.

Doctor's like to designate eating disorders as "weight disorders"� primarily because they are concerned with and defined in part by the weight of the individual. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are most commonly seen in adolescent girls and young adult women, but occur in less than ten percent of males. Such disorders are seen when the body begins to change during puberty, and teens find themselves comparing themselves to their peers and decide then if they accept their body changes or not. As an adolescent, you need to be able to develop a sense of who you are and understand the nature of your personality rather than letting your peers determine your character. You need to realize how the personal choices you make on a daily basis affect your entire life. Later in adolescence, you should have found your own identity. All these factors, if chosen in poor...