Eating Disorders

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Term Paper Title	Eating Disorders
# of Words	1513
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	6.05

Eating Disorders

Imagine a thirteen-year-old girl who weighs 60
pounds because she is starving herself. Every time
she looks in the mirror, she sees herself as fat.
Picture her parents watching their daughter literally
disintegrating into thin air. This is the life of a family
dealing with an eating disorder. Eating disorders
are a major problem with the young people of
today's society. While anorexia and bulimia are
sociological problems plaguing the world's youth,
there are also other eating disorders. This "fat
phobia", or fear of being over-weight, disturbs
people to the point where they are in a way,
committing suicide.
Eating disorders have been termed the disease
of the 1980's. An eating disorder is defined as "a
dangerous and intense striving to become thin
(Macionis 350). Even though it has been found
that "95% of people who suffer anorexia or
bulimia are woman, mostly from white, relatively
affluent families" (Macionis 350), "the
pre-occupation and obsession with food are not
limited to women" (Meadow 24). Although some
men also deal with eating disorders, most research
has been done on women. In 1985, 95% of
women felt they were overweight, while only 25%
were actually considered medically overweight
(Marshall 124). By the age of thirteen
approximately 53% of females are unhappy with
their bodies, and by the age of eighteen
approximately 78% are unhappy (Marshall 124).
Are culture could be seen as a narcissist society.
Narcissism is a preoccupation with one's self, a
concern with how one appears to others, and with
living up to an image (Meadow 127). It seems that
appearance is an important factor in our everyday
life. According to Michael Levine, who in 1987
said, "Our culture transmits powerful messages
that, just as men can not be too rich, women can
not be too thin" (Macionis 350). While all women
want to look as perfect as "Barbie", for some it
just isn't possible. For women, being slender is
almost synonymous with being successful
(Macionis 350). It is also thought that 40% of the
adult US population is significantly overweight
(Meadow 24). Some experts feel that eating
disorders are reaching epidemic proportions and
estimate the national rate to be as high as 12% of
women (Meadow 24). In fact, according to the
Phoenix Gazette on November 7, 1985, "Almost
one out of three women diet once a month, and
one in six considers herself a perpetual dieter"
(Meadow
24). It is considered that 54-86% of college
women binge eats (Eating and Sexu...

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