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Kat Green October 24, 2013 Professor Campbell English 1102 The Quiet Killer: Anorexia Nervosa and its Effects on Society Today "She was fat. Worse than that. She was a monster. A five-foot-four, ninety-eight pound monster." (Levenkron 10) As of 2006 Anorexia Nervosa was the third most common chronic illness in the United States and is quickly growing to become the most deadly disease in America (The History of Anorexia). It is growing because of how society and the media believes the ideal man and woman should look. Because of these pressures from, television, advertisements, and even clothing sizes, adolescents and young adults feel the only way to reach perfection and acceptance is by starving themselves. Not only are these teens destroying their bodies to gain approval, but they are destroying their families in the process. History: Anorexia is defined as deliberate self-starvation. Those with the disease are characterized as having a body weight twenty percent below the expected body weight of a healthy person at the same age and height of the eating disorder patient, also demonstrates a fear of gaining weight for their heights and shows all signs of malnutrition. Many people are misled in thinking that anorexia is the loss of appetite. It is actually a mental disorder evoking the fear of gaining weight (The History). They become obsessed with food, dieting, and counting calories, and many go to the extreme of maintaining dangerously low body weights (Anorexia Nervosa Understanding).
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We see the first description of anorexia in 1684, though it was not diagnosed until 1870, nearly 200 years later (The History). The term was first used by Dr. William Gull in 1868 and upon coining the name he also emphasized the psychological causes of the disease (Overview and Early History). Anorexia was first seen in the media in the 1970's causing an increase in the number of cases (The History). Since the diseases first release to the public, the number of cases of anorexia have nearly doubled (Overview and Early History). During this time the public was beginning to become fully aware of anorexia's effects, not only on individuals but on families and friends as well. In 1978 a book was published by psychologist Hilde Bruch called The Golden Cage (The History). The book was based on 70 real cases of (mostly) women who were suffering from Anorexia. The book included direct quotations and testimonials from the women (and men) (The History). Bruch stated that at the time the book was written the disease was so commonly found and frequent that it was becoming a large problem, mainly on college campuses and in universities (The History of Anorexia Nervosa) Statistics: The terrifying thing about his disease is that it can affect anyone. No one is immune to it, including men. We see anorexia in men but it is much more common in women because society today places a much higher value on a woman's body. Dr. Warren, a psychologist in New York City and an expert on eating disorders, stated that we mostly see anorexia in middle and upper class women, and even more specifically in white women under the age of 25. We hardly ever see anorexia in women who are un-wanted or un-loved (New York Times).
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According to the Counseling Center at the University of Virginia, development of this disease generally begins around ages 11 and 18, the beginning and end of adolescents (Ballet Dancers). "Due to cultural ideals of feminine beauty, young women feel a strong desire to be thinner than their bodies naturally tend to be" the Counseling Center, State University of New York and Buffalo stated(New York Times). During this time approximately 60% of anorexics will also become bulimic (the process of binging and purging to lose weight) and about 20% will die (Ballet Dancers). With the correct help about 1/3 of the girls who develop this eating disorder will overcome it (Ballet Dancers). Females are not the only gender subject to anorexia, though we see it more prominently in women. Men are also subject to the disease but we do not see it as much. It has been proven that men in such sports as swimming, wrestling, and body building are at a higher risk for developing anorexia because they are sports that put a great emphasis on weight (The Cause). These are also spots that we see televised creating the "image" of how these men are suppose to look. Men also in the spot light frequently, such as acting, or modeling, are more at risk for developing anorexia (The Cause) The Ideal Body Type Young girls today are exposed to more media outlets than ever before. They are familiar with various magazines, television shows, Facebook ads, Twitter feeds, Instagram photos, and so much more. Today the average American woman is five-foot- four and weighs approximately 140 pounds (Influence of Magazines). The average American model is five-foot-eleven and weighs approximately 117 pounds (Influence of Magazines). 30 years ago Marylyn Monroe was a size fourteen and for the time period that was considered ideal (Influence of Magazines).
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Magazines spend thousands and thousands of dollars each year on advertisements for dieting and exercise. Their advertisements also use pictures of unrealistic women (Influence of Magazines). A study was conducted at the University of Wisconsin- Madison on college age women and what they perceived to be the "perfect body type". The study used four methods that were brought together into a survey that was administered to 40 women after they had read a certain magazine. The surveys reported that the women had lower self- esteems due to the thinness the that the magazine portrayed (Depleting Body Image). On the Other Hand... Though we see how the media portrays women in magazines and television shows such as America's Next Top Model, the media feels no responsibility for the eating disorders. It believes that women who look at their ads should look at the product being advertised, not who is holding or using the product (New York Times). They feel their advertising is what sells products by saying "This beautiful woman uses this face cream so you should too!", not realizing that women see how thin the woman is, not what face cream she supposedly uses. Anorexia is a deadly mental disorder that is growing in the nation because of many different factors. The media places a great pressure on today's youth to be thin and slim like the models and actors they view on television. The pressure to be thin is all around and America's adolescence is picking up on it through the copy-cat method. This is the method that children use to learn. Teens tend to watch people they idol and try to replicate their behaviors. This disease is deadly and many will not get the help that they need because America has portrayed being thin as the way to live life and the way to look good.
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Works Cited Anorexia Nervosa: Overview and Early History ." Med India. N.p.,26 Aug, 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. <http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/anorexianervosa.htm> "Anorexia Nervosa." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anorexianervosa?s=t> Dunning, Jennifer. "Eating Disorders Haunt Ballerinas." The New York Times.The New York Times, 16 July 1997. Web. 20 Aug. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/16/arts/eating-disordershauntballerinas.html?pagewanted=all>. Facts About Anorexia Nervosa." Gale Student Resources in Context . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug, 2013. <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?display GroupName=K12Reference&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE %7CA9080504&mod e=view> Gehlin, Linda. "The History of Anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders." Web4healt. N.p., 5 Aug. 2008. Web. 25 Aug. 2013. <http://web4health.info/en/answers/ed-anorexiaGraves, Bonnie. "Chapeter Five: The High Price of Being Thin." Student Research Center. N.p., 2000. Web. 25 Aug. 3013. <http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=3&hid=7&sid=867cba0b-df49-47c5Sarah Katlyn Anthony! 10/29/13 1:08 PM Comment [9]: T$=<C$!BT5U;!

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bbba168ee4120c37%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=hxh& AN=8894603> "Influence of Magazines on College-Age Females BodyImage." Depleting Body Image:. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. <http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~jpiliavi/357/body-image.htm>. Kristi. "The Media - The Something Fishy Website on Eating Disorders." The Media -

The Something Fishy Website on Eating Disorders. N.p., n.d. Web 26 Aug. 2013. <http://www.something-fishy.org/cultural/ballet.php>. Levenkron, Steven. The Best Little Girl in the World. New York: Warner Books, 1979. Print Newton, David, and Donna. "Anorexia Nervosa." Power Search. N.p., 31 July 2007. Web. 23 Aug 2013. <http://find.galegroup.com/gps/retrieve.do?contentSet=GSRC&resultListType=R ESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28ke%2C None%2C16%29Anorexia+Nervosa%24&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&s ort=Relevance&searchType=BasicSearchForm&tabID=T001&prodId=IPS&searc hId=R1&currentPosition=2&userGroupName=apex79490&docId=EJ2643900009 &docType=GSRC>