Eating Disorders

Who is affected by eating disorders?   Statistics say that 1 million men and boys struggle with eating disorders, 7 million women and girls struggle with eating disorders. The media is one cause of eating disorders, especially in young children and adolescents. Those who are diagnosed with eating disorders have negative thoughts and feelings about their body weight, and this can disrupt their daily lives and activities.   It has been said that eating disorders are often considered a teenage girl disorder, however, a high number of males and adults qualify as being diagnosed with an eating disorder.
    What is an eating disorder? An eating disorder is a person who experiences harsh conflicts in their eating habits, for example reduced eating, or overeating and also making oneself throw up after food intake. Many different types of eating disorders. The most common eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa or anorexia, and Bulimia Nervosa or bulimia. Someone who has an eating disorder may have started out by eating smaller or larger intakes of food, but in time, the urge to eat less or more grows out of control. Eating disorders are extremely difficult to understand despite scientific research to understand them, the behavioral, biological, and social underpinnings of these illnesses remain mysterious (Eating Disorders, 2008). Eating disorders are among the most common of all psychiatric disorders in women (Morgan et al. 1999).
    Anorexia nervosa is a well-known eating disorder. This eating disorder effects everyone, from adolescents to adults, both men, and women are affected by this illness. This type of eating disorder is one in which people can starve themselves to death. Those with anorexia have an extreme fear of gaining weight and have an indistinct view of their body size and shape. Because of this they do not maintain a healthy normal body weight. People who have the eating disorder anorexia, most often characterized as perfectionists and overachievers who...