People might joke about partaking in some shopping or fashion therapy, but for all those who are more susceptible to eating disorders, including bulimia or anorexia, it is no laughing matter. Young people feel tremendous pressure to be thin.
Unrealistic Body Image
It isn’t easy to prevent these pressures. The media’s increased obsession with the thin ideal, including in the fashion and entertainment industries, may contribute to unrealistic body ideals in people with eating disorders. A rise in access to the global media and technological advances like Adobe Photoshop and airbrushing also affect our perception of achievable beauty standards.
What’s an Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders are disorders where the people experience unhealthy and prolonged disruptions in their eating habits and behaviors, which are accompanied by ideas and emotions that reinforce these behaviors. Individuals with eating disorders should look into eating disorder treatment facilities to help themselves out. People with an eating disorder develop an obsession with food and their body weight that can be hard to overcome on your own. These stem from compulsions related to body shape and/ or weight or food and frequently result in serious health consequence, including death. In fact, according to ANAD, someone dies every 62 minutes as a result of the effects of an eating disorder. Individuals with eating disorders have a tendency to strive towards perfectionism. They also have a low self-image and are extremely critical of themselves and their body. People with this condition feel fat and consider themselves to be overweight even if they’re not.
Types of Eating Disorders
Eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia get quite a bit of attention. Nevertheless, a number of different kinds of eating disorders exist aside from these two conditions. Apart from bulimia or anorexia nervosa, people suffering from an eating disorder could have binge eating disorder, in which they eating considerable quantities of food in a short amount of time. These binges are accompanied by emotions of shame and inadequacy. These individuals might not purge during their crises like an individual with bulimia would. Pica is another fairly common eating disorder. It is a condition marked by the consumption of non-food items, like paper, dirt, ice or soap, which can lead to gastrointestinal distress, nutritional deficiencies, and even death in some cases.
Reasons for These Conditions
Some evidence exists to suggest that genetics play a part in whether or not people develop this condition. In addition, character traits such as perfectionism, neuroticism and impulsivity are frequently found in individuals who have developed an eating disorder. Lastly, other possible causes are perceived cultural pressures to be thin and exposure to websites, TV and print ads, which support such ideals. The Center for Eating Disorders cites a phenomenon that happened in rural Fiji at the introduction of television. This fresh media exposure resulted in some people developing significant preoccupation with body shape and weight.
Some took up purging behaviors to control fat and weight. This example illustrates a vulnerability that some people have to the pictures and values put forth by the media and the fashion industry, which often promotes unrealistic bodyweight/ size ideals.
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