Anorexia And Obesity Essay Assignment Paper

Anorexia And Obesity Essay Assignment Paper

Anorexia And Obesity Essay Assignment Paper

Many women of today are very weight conscious. Females from fashion magazines, models, entertainers and movie stars have perfectly curved slim bodies. Every woman probably wants to be like them, they get into exercising, dieting or yoga. But we are blinded by the fact that we have more obese or anorexic women in the United States than in any other country. The statistics show that thirty percent of American women are obese and one percent of young women are suffering from anorexia nervosa. Both obesity and anorexia are classified as eating disorders and they have totally opposite effect on the body shape. This essay will give information on the cause and effect of both eating disorders.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

I have a friend named Lisa; she is a beautiful lady with good sense of humor but overweight. She has been suffering from obesity since her childhood. Her family members are all in the same range of weight. She would eat tons of food everyday, eating something while watching TV and snacking between meals. Being heavy, she feels lack of energy to do things. Walking around would make her catch her breath. She is an example of an obese women and this gave me the idea of writing an essay about her eating disorder and the opposite of it anorexia.
In my own words, obesity is when a person is at risk of negative health consequences related to their weight. A person increases its weight with too much food intake and therefore stores excessive amount of fat in their body. Fat is essential to our body as a source of energy, but too much fat can lead to many life threatening diseases like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, arthritis and some forms of cancer. Genetics also play a role in developing such huge bodies.Anorexia And Obesity Essay
According to Gary Langer of ABC News’ analysis on obesity poll that he presented on May 30 2004, Americans are very concerned about their weight, but very few take action to change it.

One of the strengths of studying eating disorders such as compulsive over-eating or anorexia nervosa from a purely biological perspective is that eating is a biological phenomenon that impacts the body and the mind. Starvation, as observed in non-anorexic subjects that have been forcibly starved, produces psychological effects that might be assumed to be the result of personal pathology, not simply restricting one’s diet-such as depression, an obsession with food, obsessive-compulsive behavior, guilt, eating rituals, and a lack of sexual desire (Clark, 2000). Obese subjects may be socially ostracized from their peers from an early age, become unable to physically move around adequately and therefore are likely to be socially isolated, become obsessed with food and dieting, use overeating as a coping mechanism much like a drug, and all of these symptoms are the biological consequences of obesity and the fast and binge cycle, not necessarily personal, social and cultural defects that drive the individual to overeat.Anorexia And Obesity Essay
To show an individual afflicted with an eating disorder that the starvation that triggers their obsession and fear of food, or the binging that may the biological result from repeated dieting, may be a comforting. It is biology, not weakness of the will, that is the reason that the obese person fails to reduce or the anorexic is unhappy.
However, the psychological reasons that drive a person to starve and to relapse into anorexia nervosa outside of a contrived experiment or situation are not purely explained by biology. Why do some people find the psychological effects of anorexia to be addictive? This is not fully explained by the biological model of behavior, nor is the addiction of the obese for certain comfort foods, or why certain psychological trigger situations provoke a binge, even after successful weight loss.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

Eating Disorders; Anorexia Nervosa and Obesity in America

In many other countries, living skinny enough to show bones means they live in poverty while having excessive weight shows individuals living in higher class society. In America, obese and anorexic are two body types that have been called diseases, in which they is very similar and different in many aspects. I do not approve of anorexia nervosa or obesity. I want my readers to understand the effects of these diseases and what they can cause. Obesity means living fat or overweight. Obesity is a cosmetic issue. It is also a chronic disease. Obesity leads to diabetes, cardiovascular, heart diseases, high blood pressure, and other chronic illnesses. Obesity is very difficult to treat. It is very effective to one’s health and how long they will live. More than 95% of those who lose weight gain the weight right back within four to five years. Everyone have different food choices and the way they prepare their food. In America, in every city; there are fast food places and restaurants on every corner you go on. We have the Chinese, pizza, and burger fast food places and the Olive Garden’s, Friday’s, and Ruby Tuesday’s restaurants. The fast food places do not sell many healthy foods, while the restaurants sell more varieties of healthy foods. In our daily lives we need essential nutrients such as, protein, minerals, carbohydrates fats, water and vitamins.Anorexia And Obesity Essay
These essential nutrients will lead you to a healthier and longer life. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that causes people to obsess about their weight and the food they eat. People with anorexia nervosa attempt to maintain a weight that’s far below normal for their age and height. To prevent weight gain or to continue losing weight, people with anorexia nervosa may starve themselves or exercise excessively (By Mayo Clinic staff 20-Jun-2011). Anorexia usually begins during the teen years or young adulthood. It is more common in females, but may also be seen in males. The disorder is seen mainly in White women who is high academic achievers and who have a goal-oriented family or personality (By: psychic solutions India 15-Aug-2013). There are many signs that one is on the verge of becoming obese would be clothing that is tighter, having extra fat around the midsection, increased sweating, feeling extremely tired every day. Signs and symptoms of one becoming anorexic would be blotchy and yellow skin that is dry, confused and slow thinking, poor memory, judgment, depression, dry mouth, extreme sensitivity to coldness, and loss of bone and muscle strength. When you are living in America, society plays a big role in one’s life. It is no big surprise that eating disorders are increasing because of society’s views on living thin. North American women are given the message in their young adulthood that in order to be happy, beautiful, and successful you have to be thin. Hundreds of teenage girls are starving themselves at this very moment. They are trying to obtain what the fashion industry considers to be the “model” figure. They are under a large amount of pressure so they start starving themselves, and vomiting, and only eating diet food to keep themselves thin. Many celebrities and actresses we have seen on television has deprived themselves of proper nutrition and endured hours of exercise. When living obese in America, society can be very cruel.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

Living obese is frowned upon and is often judged. They have come up with numerous exercise techniques to maximize weight loss. Most of the time when you turn on the television, in every movie and magazine you see thin men and women looking back at you. They have the most perfect skin and bodies. Most are portrayed as the general society. It is very rare that you find someone like Monique Parker who has public struggles with her weight. There is very few role models for women or men that’s nowhere near perfect. The unfortunate part of all of that is that the average, everyday person is not perfect.

There are numerous ways that you can control your weight and to gain weight. Losing weight can be extremely hard and draining. I am an overweight female and I watch all types of television shows such as Dr.Oz and The Biggest Loser. Both inspires me to try to lose weight. Dr.Oz tells and shows people how to lose weight. Some tips are; plan your meals ahead of time, use meditation to help you cope with chronic stress, which can lead to eating excessively, eat foods with healthy fats such as olives, salmon and walnuts. The biggest loser will inspire you to exercise and to try to keep in shape. Walking, going to the gym, and using the weight machines or treadmills can help a great deal. Ways to gain weight would be to increase your calorie intake by eating energy dense foods that contain a high number of calories and nutrients. Add dips and toppings to your food. You can also use extra sauce for foods such as alfredo and spaghetti.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

Drinking beverages with calories. The most important way to gain weight and to lose weight would be to change your attitude about eating. Obesity and anorexia nervosa have a lot of negative effects on people. The best possible solution is to be more active and to have a good healthy meal every day. We as humans need to reevaluate our lifestyle so that we can avoid problems associated with obesity and anorexia. Every young person should be aware of the possible risks and effects of the dangerous illnesses on the body associated with these diseases. Doctors, teachers, and psychologists need to start making some awareness giving everyone pamphlets and information concerning anorexia nervosa and obesity so that way we can try to avoid these diseases. Being as though these diseases can cause health risks and even death we should all be trying to avoid them and becoming better at maintaining our body size and health, but we do the exact opposite. It seems as though most people do not even care. This is why we have to come together as a unit in this world today. In conclusion, Anorexia Nervosa and Obesity have different effects on the body as well as society and popular culture, but in the end both are severe problems that must be dealt with Anorexia And Obesity Essay

In many other countries, to be skinny enough to show off one’s bones would mean that they are living in poverty; while an excessive amount of weight would show that the individual lives in a higher class in society. In America however, these two body types have been elevated into two of the leading causes of death amongst our population; not as a sign of societal class, but as diseases. Anorexia – which stems from “Anorexia Nervosa” – is an illness in which a person has an intense fear of gaining weight, and is often corresponded with a distorted perception of their own weight and body shape. According to many psychologists anorexia is believed to have the highest mortality rate then any other psychiatric disorder (about ten percent Anorexia And Obesity Essay
Anorexia, in part, is developed because of society‘s promotion of a self-conscience individual. Countless teenagers are constantly bombarded with the promotion of the ideal American being thin with demanded characteristics and traits; this declaration of the media is the leading cause and impression amongst teenagers that convince them to take drastic actions to become dangerously thin. Individuals with high levels of obsessive, restraint and clinical levels of perfectionist traits (most common amongst teenage females and male homosexuals) are most likely to become anorexic. Obesity is developed primarily by individuals who either oppose society or by those who society has shunned. Where as in popular media anorexia is promoted, obesity is equally ridiculed. Obese children, teens, and adults face many social stigmas including many negative stereotypes such as the common belief of being lazy, dirty, and even being evil (many “religious” images shout gluttony, the second of the seven deadly sins, when confronting obese individuals). Also, society has painted a bulls-eye on the chest of obese children; as they are often targeted by bullies while being shunned by their peers. The media even uses obese characters in cartoons as comedic relief, with the fat character often getting stuck between narrow spaces. In conclusion, Anorexia Anorexia And Obesity Essay

Is there a strong connection between the fast food industry and the growing rate of obesity among young children? The answer is yes- fast food consumption is a large contributor to increasing child obesity risks and the effects of long-term health problems in the future. Children are bombarded by fast food advertising on a daily basis which lure them into wanting fast foods in addition to the great taste. The rapid growth of child obesity is in step with the growing fast food chains and market. The realization of this important link is the first step in finding a solution to the growing epidemic of child obesity.
A person is considered obese or suffering from obesity when their weight is 20 percent (25 % in women) or more over the maximum

I recently had the privileged of hearing Suna Kassier deliver a paper on “Prevention of Obesity and Eating Disorders” at the SASA Roadshow on “Nutrition in NCD Prevention” (NCD = Non-communicable Diseases).Anorexia And Obesity Essay

Suna Kassier, a lecturer and Post Graduate Academic Coordinator at the Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, at the university of KwaZulu-Natal, has a great deal of experience in this field. She believes that obesity and eating disorders are two ends of a linked spectrum of disordered eating, which makes a lot of sense.

Common factors

Obesity and eating disorders share the following risk factors:

1) Dieting

Both conditions are linked to dieting: overweight and obese individuals try every diet available and use every pill and potion they can purchase to lose weight, while anorexics starve themselves into skeletal ill-health, and bulimics and binge-eaters gorge and purge until their eating patterns are completely disturbed.

2) Media-driven

The urge to achieve slender to skeletal figures (weight-loss regimens, anorexia, purging in bulimia) or bulging muscles (bigorexia) is fuelled by the hype and unrealistic expectations created in the media.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

We cannot all look like models strutting the catwalk, or Mr Universe with a six-pack and muscles that resemble blown up balloons, but the problem is that so many people nowadays want to look like these role models.

3) Distorted body image or dissatisfaction

Both the overweight and the anorexic have distorted body images in both extremes of the weight-spectrum. In a survey conducted a number of years ago, the majority of South Africans suffering from overweight or obesity were “satisfied with their body image” or felt that “being thin was linked to illnesses like Aids, and therefore not desirable”.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

Read: Body image – a loaded topic

Dissatisfaction with one’s body image is personified by thin people looking into their mirrors and seeing someone who is fat. Patients suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) have extreme body image dissatisfaction, which can lead to disastrous behaviour and even suicide.

4) Weight-related teasing

It is an unfortunate phenomenon that human beings, like animals, tend to pick on individuals who deviate from the norm. Fat people are endlessly bullied, insulted, teased and denigrated by their peers. Nowadays even airlines and employers discriminate against passengers and employees who are obese. (Fatness can get you fired!) Conversely very thin people, particularly young men, who are not necessarily suffering from anorexia, are teased and bullied until they turn to body building and supplements to build up their abs and muscles – so that they can fit into our body-shape-obsessed society.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

From one extreme to another

Because of the overlap and the many similarities between obesity and eating disorders, it is vital for therapists treating both ends of the weight-spectrum to realise that these disorders are not distinct and are actually mirror images of each other.

Obesity/anorexia/bulimia/orthorexia/bigorexia/etc are all eating disorders and can even occur simultaneously in one person. Far too often, someone who once was anorexic is “cured” and switches to another condition such as binge eating disorder. Obese people who have shed amazing amounts of fat, can also switch to anorexia or bulimia because they are terrified of gaining weight again.

Read: Meat linked to weight gain

It is important that dieticians, doctors and psychologists treating obese patients and/or people with eating disorders, should keep this relationship in mind and concentrate on identifying factors that can be modified and critical periods when an intervention could save the patient from one or the other condition.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

Vital intervention periods

Kassier identified the following periods throughout life which are critical moments when interventions can prevent an individual from developing future obesity or eating disorders:

a) The prenatal period

The prenatal period – as researchers pay attention to the period before and immediately after conception, as well as pregnancy, they have come to realise that if the foetus is over-fed during the intrauterine period, the child will be prone to obesity in later life.

b) Foetal overnutrition

The prime factor driving foetal overnutrition is maternal obesity. In other words, modern populations are caught up in a never-ending vicious cycle where obese mothers overfeed their babies in the womb and then give birth to children who will in turn become obese and/or suffer from disordered eating. The value of ensuring that mothers are not obese or overweight before falling pregnant is becoming more and more evident. Excessive food intake particularly of foods with a low nutrient density and high energy content during pregnancy is just as detrimental to the future of our species as maternal starvation.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

Read: Mother’s fat harms embryo

c) The adiposity rebound

The phenomenon of the “adiposity rebound” where normal children lose weight to reach their lowest weight by the age of 5 to 6 years and then gradually start to regain weight as they grow older, has been identified as a critical factor in future obesity.

Researchers have determined that if infants experience the adiposity rebound at an earlier age (e.g. 3 years), they will be more inclined to become obese in later life. This pattern of accelerated growth which leads to a very rapid decrease in body weight may be due to infants growing taller at an earlier age due to the high-protein, low-fat diets of modern infants. Mother’s milk, in contrast, is a high-fat, low-protein food, which pinpoints how important breastfeeding is to ensure normal growth in infancy, a normal adiposity rebound and less chance of developing obesity at a later stage.

d) Undernutrition in early life

Millions of infants throughout the world suffer from malnutrition due to poverty and a lack of breastfeeding. Rolland-Cachera and co-workers (2006) suggest that early nutrient deprivation may programme children to develop a thrifty metabolism that will make them vulnerable to obesity in adolescence and adulthood.Anorexia And Obesity Essay

These new insights into the many different factors that fuel obesity and eating disorders can be used to shed light on the obesity epidemic in South Africa where so many pregnant women are either over- or undernourished and so many children are not breastfed and are stunted or grow too rapidly at an early age causing them to have an early adiposity rebound. Interventions to address these diet-related problems are urgently required, if we are to win the war against eating disorders of all kinds. Anorexia And Obesity Essay

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