Eating Disorders
...ces on being thin. In North America, women are given the message at a very young age that in order to be happy and successful, they must be thin. Every time you walk into a store you are surrounded by the images of emaciated models that appear on the front cover of all fashion magazines. Thousands of teenage girls are starving themselves this very minute trying to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the "ideal" figure. The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman. Maintaining a weight that is 15% below your expected body weight fits the criteria for anorexia, so most models, according to medical standards, fit into the category of being anorexic. Teenagers need to realize that society's ideal body image is not achievable. The photos we see in magazines are not real either. Many people don't realize that those photos have gone through many touch ups and have been airbrushed to make the models look perfect. Teenagers striving to attain societies unattainable ideal image will just end up increasing their feelings of inadequacy. Most people always associate eating disorders with people who don’t eat. Over eating is also an eating disorder; many people don’t understand that. Uncontrollable eating and consequent weight gain characterize compulsive overeating. Compulsive overeaters use food as a way to cope with stress, emotional conflicts and daily problems. The food can block out feelings and emotions. Compulsive overeaters usually feel out of control and are aware their eating patterns are abnormal (Thompson). Like bulimics, compulsive overeaters do recognize they have a problem. Compulsive overeating usually starts in early childhood when eating patterns are formed. Most people who become compulsive eaters are people who never learned the proper way to deal with stressful situations and used food instead as a way of coping (Thompson). Fat can also serve as a protective function for them, especially in people that have been victims of sexual abuse. They sometimes feel that being overweight will keep others at a distance and make them less attractive. Dieting and bingeing can go on forever if the emotional reasons for the bingeing are not dealt with. In today's society, compulsive overeating is not yet taken seriously enough. Instead of being treated for the serious problem they have, they are instead directed to diet centers and health spas. Like anorexia and bulimia, compulsive overeating is a serious problem and can result in death. With the proper treatment, which should include therapy, medical and nutritional counseling, it can be overcome. Binge eating disorder is another problem that people are not always aware of. It is when someone consumes large quantities of food in a very short period of time until the individual is uncomfortably full. Binge eating disorder is much like bulimia except the individuals do not use any form of purging (i.e. vomiting, laxatives, fasting, etc.) following a binge. Individuals usually feel out of control during a binge episode, followed by feelings of guilt and shame (Thompson). Many individuals who suffer with binge eating disorder use food as a way to cope with or block out feelings and emotions they do not want to feel (Thompson). Individuals can also use food as a way to numb themselves, to cope with daily life stresses, to provide comfort for themselves or fill a void they feel within. Like all eating disorders, binge eating is a serious problem but can be overcome through proper treatment. Most people think eating disorders only happen to females, but in fact it effects several males. It is estimated that approximately 10% of eating disorder sufferers are men (Thompson). I, however, personally feel that figure would be higher if more men came forward with their problem and if compulsive eaters were included in that figure. It is very difficult for men to rea...