joylin here is the assignment

Hayden PAGE 6

Heidi Hayden

Professor Teri Ferguson

English Comp II 1213

Febuary 24th, 2016

Eating Disorders and the Environmental Factors

“ The real battle, ultmately, is within the self.” (Bordo 1988). What are eating disorders? They are defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as “an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, common eating disorders include, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.” (National Institute of Mental Health). Young women who fall prey to this self-inflicted problem view food as a necessary evil, it is used to nourish their bodies to sustain life, but those that suffer from various eating disorders also see food as a plague, a poison that will slowly kill their female shape or social acceptance. 1.6% of women annually are affected by some form of eating disorder, although those statistics are not accurate since most cases are not diagnosed or go untreated. Young women (mostly White Americans) feel as though they have to be thin to be attractive. They watch beauty pageants in envy, see magazine racks with models of small stature, and walk past other women who have the so called “perfect

body”. They wonder why they can’t look like that. Often telling themselves, if I would have skipped that last meal maybe I too could have that “perfect body.” Growing up as a young woman I felt those pressures, I looked in envy of those slender girls and asked, “Why I had a muscular body rather than a slender body?” The cause of eating disorders is not clear, but both genetic and environmental factors appear to play a role. (Wikipedia)

For years the fashion industry would feed upon the idea that women will do whatever it takes to fit into their style and sizes, they showed skinny models, almost anorexic looking in adoring clothes and put unrealistic ideas into women’s heads that if they eat right and exercise often then they will look the way society expects them to look. Every woman can stroll into a department store and see that the smaller size clothes are at the fore-front, they are shown as the size we should be, although there are plenty of women who can pick out the “XS” or “S” sizes, most of us feel embarrassed for the common sized woman to bypass these types of stores. Times and ideas about the female body image have begun to change, new clothing avenues have opened up and have taken some of the stress women feel when choosing clothes to wear, although they still strive to be healthy, they are encouraged to embrace their body type and some designers have begun to market styles that reflect that. They have opened up the narrow minded idea that if you don’t look and fit the image then you don’t fit in. Eating disorders are a mind manipulation, they don’t show the true depth of a woman’s heart, and that it true beauty personified.

We all want to look good, we all want a mate to be attracted to us, and we all desire to be wanted physically. Women look at food as a way to achieve the thinnest look possible, this will in-turn attract the best looking or wealthiest companion. Another group of women suffer from bulimia, they eat whatever they want and purge moments later, this satisfies their hunger but they can’t stand for those foods to put an ounce of weight on their bodies, this is the definition of a dysfunctional eating habit. There is also the group that eats whatever they want to add incher to their waste but they realize that God gave them their body and no amount of altering or diet plan will change that. The common theme for these groups is that each one of them views eating differently, but in the end food is the one thing they have in common.

Eating disorders can be encouraged by many different influences. Some of those being child abuse, social isolation, parental influences, peer pressure and cultural pressure.

Children who are abused often deal with psychological issues such as eating disorders. They turn to eating disorders often gain a sense of comfort or control in their life. When a child has been in and out of foster care throughout their life, they feel a loss of control and often times easily susceptible to develop an eating disorder. Also, stress in an unstable home, children will turn to food for comfort.

Social isolation can have an influence on an individual because those who are socially isolated generally compare themselves to individuals that have good social relationships in turn this can cause emotional eating which can become a source of comfort. Social isolation can also trigger binge eating as well, because that person often feels guilty about the comfort foods they have indulged in.

Parental influence can have a huge impact on a person’s eating habits. Parental behavior can play an important role in eating disorders. Parents influence their children’s eating by allowing bad eating habits, their own parents body shape, size, and even the type of relationship they have with their child. Often children mimic their parents eating behaviors, so if a parent binge eats then the child will be more likely to binge eat as well. Parental pressure can also cause eating disorders, because if a parent is constantly nagging on their size then they could turn to bulimia or anorexia to please their parent.

Peer pressure is among one of the highest influences for eating disorders. A lot of teen girls are often worried about their appearance and how they can compare to other teen girls. Athletes have a significantly higher rate for eating disorders because they have an image and a specific weight they have to meet in order to be faster, more flexible, and more competitive. Female athletes that participate in sports such as ballet and gymnastics have an even higher chance because they are constantly trying to maintain that perfect body image.

If you walk down a city block in America today you will see many different body types. While shopping at any clothing store you will find petite clothing stores and plus-sized clothing stores all with styles for today’s trends. Society has found a way to embrace all different body types. We look at ourselves in the mirror and scrutinize things we wish we could change, but in turn the world has managed to find a way to ensure that we can be happy by just being who we are and not to strive to be something we were not intended to be. Eating disorders are a self-inflicted wound, they are not intended to be shared, and they are imaginary scenarios that blur the lines of happiness.

Women around the world have found ideas and ways to embrace who they are and not fall victim to the idea that they need to look like a Barbie. Consider the commercials for body soaps and under garments, they use women of all shapes and sizes to model for their company. Public acceptance is the most positive way to change society’s view of what is “ideal image” and if society’s views were broadened there would be less stress to fit the perfect form, in turn causing less stress on ourselves to even consider becoming a victim of an eating disorder.

Work Cited

NIMH “Eating Disorders.” NIMH. Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. Wikipedia. “Eating Disorders.” Perfect Body. N.p.,4 Mar 2013. Web. 17 Nov 2015.

Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. Berkeley: U of California, 1993. Print.