The Obsessive Pursuit of Thinness

The Role of American Culture in Eating Disorders

During the last decade, the devastating impact of eating disorders has captured the attention of the public. Manifested primarily in the forms of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, eating disorders affect considerably more women then men. The susceptibility of women to eating disorders stems from media images and social expectations that women focus on their physical appearance. Bombarded unremittingly by thin glamorous women in the media, women who conform to society's values go on a punishing treadmill to push themselves to achieve these unreasonable standards of beauty. Therefore, apart from addressing individuals who suffer from eating disorders, it is essential for American society to recognize its role in contributing to the prevalence of eating disorders. Professionals, educators and parents need to turn the focus away from the pursuit of beauty to the emphasis on a healthy lifestyle. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of eating disorders in American society. The paper will also include a discussion of various causes and solutions of eating disorders.

Eating disorders manifest themselves in different ways, depending on the specific types. However, individuals suffering from eating disorders do share common characteristics. They are unable to keep up a normal weight that corresponds with their age and height

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e great dissatisfaction within them. Girls whose identities are wrapped up in their physical appearance will suffer a drop in self-esteem. In order to restore their self-esteem, they resort to disordered eating, such as diets and fasting, to regain their previous weight (O'Dea & Abraham, 1999, p. 674). Therefore, it has been found that one quarter to one percent of middle-school and high-school girls has anorexia, and one to three percent in the same population has bulimia (Costin, 1999, p. 19). Unfortunately, these young girls do not learn how to cope with their postpubertal body shape and size even by the time they reach college level. In fact, without effective intervention, eating disorders can accompany young women for the rest of their adult life. Many young women continue to grapple with eating disorders and eating problems. Eating disorders are often the external representation of their struggle to grow up and cope with the increasing demands of the world. Academic work and sexual relationships constitute the major issues that place substantial pressure on college women who suffer from eating disorders (Switzer, Bergholz, Dore, & Lamieh, 1998, p. 200). Men. Men constitute ten percent of the eating disordered populatio
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Approximate Word count = 4417
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)