Anorexia nervosa has become one of the leading psychiatric conditions among young women today. There is great discussion as to what factors have caused this illness to grow to almost epidemic proportions.
The media has been blamed as being the culprit, as young girls watch stick thin figures modeling the latest and trendy fashions and secretly wish they can be like them.
Although the media can absorb some of the blame, we need to face up to the fact that the food paradox we have today is unlike any before our times.
We are living in a country that celebrates slenderness, yet in this same country food Is so abundant as never before. This paradox is bound to cause problems. And not only is food abundant, but it is also very enticing, high calorie foods, that are low in nutrients.
Beauty ideals are higher than ever, yet we are bombarded with enticing foods constantly. This causes a struggle leading to a nation obsessed with food and weight, anorexics on one side and obesity on the other.
In the Documentary Thin which highlights four young women's struggle in an eating disorder clinic, the girls are given high fat junk foods and taught that "It is unwise to restrict eating in any way, and paying attention to nutritional content is a form of restricting."
Yet many of those same nurses who are directing treatment, are not just overweight, but even obese. Although the girls are told they may not count calories at all, these same nurses are shown discussing their own personal weight loss woes, and their best methods of losing weight.
As one former anorexic wrote, after watching the film;
"All this serves to highlight how truly dysfunctional our collective attitudes toward food has become in our society. The uncomfortable truth is that anyone who eats a diet consisting mostly of the types of processed junk food featured in the film, without regulation, will likely end up struggling with weight issues. We obsess about diet and calories because there really is no other way to remain healthy."
Women with eating disorders have simply taken our universal preoccupation to the extreme, exhibiting their thinness as a sign of discipline, a superior ability to overcome their temptations where others have failed.
Anorexia may not be as irrational as people who have no experience with the disorder may believe. Anorexia is a desperate attempt at gaining some type of control of a situation that seems overwhelming to young girls.
The fact that the illness afflicts young girls to a greater degree than more mature individuals shows us that education may be the key to putting a lid on this epidemic.
The more mature mind has a greater ability to deal with all this confusion regarding food, but the young immature mind without proper education has a much harder time at grasping how to handle the anxiety experienced by this confusion.
Young girls have very little understanding of how they are affecting their bodies with their behaviors. At that time the body still feels so invincible to them, it is difficult for young people to comprehend the care their bodies need to stay strong. Often once the anorexic loses weight and feels the weakness, it comes as a shock to them, and sometimes even assists in recovery.
The media has been blamed as being the culprit, as young girls watch stick thin figures modeling the latest and trendy fashions and secretly wish they can be like them.
Although the media can absorb some of the blame, we need to face up to the fact that the food paradox we have today is unlike any before our times.
We are living in a country that celebrates slenderness, yet in this same country food Is so abundant as never before. This paradox is bound to cause problems. And not only is food abundant, but it is also very enticing, high calorie foods, that are low in nutrients.
Beauty ideals are higher than ever, yet we are bombarded with enticing foods constantly. This causes a struggle leading to a nation obsessed with food and weight, anorexics on one side and obesity on the other.
In the Documentary Thin which highlights four young women's struggle in an eating disorder clinic, the girls are given high fat junk foods and taught that "It is unwise to restrict eating in any way, and paying attention to nutritional content is a form of restricting."
Yet many of those same nurses who are directing treatment, are not just overweight, but even obese. Although the girls are told they may not count calories at all, these same nurses are shown discussing their own personal weight loss woes, and their best methods of losing weight.
As one former anorexic wrote, after watching the film;
"All this serves to highlight how truly dysfunctional our collective attitudes toward food has become in our society. The uncomfortable truth is that anyone who eats a diet consisting mostly of the types of processed junk food featured in the film, without regulation, will likely end up struggling with weight issues. We obsess about diet and calories because there really is no other way to remain healthy."
Women with eating disorders have simply taken our universal preoccupation to the extreme, exhibiting their thinness as a sign of discipline, a superior ability to overcome their temptations where others have failed.
Anorexia may not be as irrational as people who have no experience with the disorder may believe. Anorexia is a desperate attempt at gaining some type of control of a situation that seems overwhelming to young girls.
The fact that the illness afflicts young girls to a greater degree than more mature individuals shows us that education may be the key to putting a lid on this epidemic.
The more mature mind has a greater ability to deal with all this confusion regarding food, but the young immature mind without proper education has a much harder time at grasping how to handle the anxiety experienced by this confusion.
Young girls have very little understanding of how they are affecting their bodies with their behaviors. At that time the body still feels so invincible to them, it is difficult for young people to comprehend the care their bodies need to stay strong. Often once the anorexic loses weight and feels the weakness, it comes as a shock to them, and sometimes even assists in recovery.
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