Abstract

Anorexia Nervosa, or anorexia, is a potentially fatal eating disorder that involves starving oneself to a very low, unhealthy weight. People who are overly concerned about their weight to an unhealthy extreme are considered to have an eating disorder like anorexia (Erlanger, 1985). There are four stages of anorexia: achievement, security-compulsive, assertive, and Pseudo-Identity (Levenkron 2000). Symptoms include depression, social withdrawal, fatigue, food obsession, heart and gastrointestinal complications, low kidney function, flaky skin, brittle nails, tooth loss, (Dryden 2011) weight loss, lowered body temperature and blood pressure, slower heart rate, loss of menstruation, thinning hair, and malnutrition (Levenkron). 0.5% of female Americans are diagnosed with anorexia at one of these various stages, and .05% of American males are also diagnosed with anorexia. Diagnosis generally occurs between the ages of 14-18, and rarely over 40 (American 2000). Modern society is concerned about its weight. Dieting is seen as a natural part of the American life because most think that being thin is beautiful and fat is ugly, a perception we get from the media. If someone is heavier, then those who aren’t look down on the person as lower than themselves. One way anorexia can start is when a woman tries to look like a thin celebrity. Many times, famous people have actually developed an eating disorder that makes them look 'beautiful' on TV. (Edlin, 2010). Many anorexics start their 'dieting' when someone mentions something about their weight. They then become very concerned about what they eat and how much they weigh. This can lead to drastic measures being taken to become thinner. Although this is not always the case, many anorexia patients say this happened to them. Other influences that can lead to someone becoming anorexic are a traumatic life event, or the want for attention (Harmon, 1999). One example of anorexia in media is // The Best Little Girl in the World, // based on Steven Levenkron’s book. It's about a girl who becomes severely anorexic after a ballet teacher tells her she could be amazing if she was to drop a few pounds. She gets hospitalized a few times, but eventually makes a recovery. This shows the impact of how much one small comment about a patient’s weight can influence them much father down the road (Smith 2010). There is no definite cause for anorexia, but there are multiple factors, including a possible genetic factor that was recently discovered. If one gene on a certain chromosome is missing, there is an increased risk of anorexia. Other factors that can lead to anorexia in some people are environments that have financial and familial problems. For these people, anorexia is a way to gain power over some part of their life. Treating anorexia can be difficult for anorexic people, they are usually sent to therapists and given food and medical treatment to help with the anorexia. Sometimes the anorexic behaviors start again, which can make the disorder hard to treat (Harmon). Anorexia is a disease where those affected waste away from self-inflicted starvation to try to become beautiful, only to have an opposite effect, unless it is stopped in time. Otherwise, may just be to late to save them from the slow, painful death they cause to themselves.

This is equivalent to a two page double spaced abstract! :D We just need to fill in the citations where needed.

Okay, but it's more like 1 1/2, without the references. But I'll print it out and bring it tomorrow, ok? =D