Teenagers and Their Issues With Eating Disorders

A social issue that continues to cause concern for many teenagers, is the problem of eating disorders. Eating disorders come in a variety of ways, such as eating large quantities of food and an obsession with thinness. The three most common eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Obesity. These conditions effect many teens around the world. They are real, complex, and devastating situations, which can have serious consequences. This is particularly worrisome, as some teenagers are very vulnerable to such disorders.

The first and most common eating disorder nearly affecting 10 out of 100 teenagers each year is Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia means the loss of appetite; however, this is a mental illness in which She has an intense fear of gaining weight. She has a distorted perception of her weight and body shape. The typical anorexia tends to be controlling, a great overachiever, and a perfectionist who strives to please other people. However, Anorexia isn’t just a problem with food or weight; it’s an attempt to use food and weight to deal with emotional problems.

The second type of major eating disorder that affects teens is Bulimia Nervosa. Bulimia is an eating disorder in which people binge and then vomit to rid themselves of food. Some teens may use laxatives and do excessive exercise to control their weight. Many bulimics will hide food from themselves or even pour detergent on their food to make sure they don’t eat it. These teens have a low self-esteem and consider themselves ugly. They suffer nutritional deficiencies and often have low blood pressure, mood swings, fatigue, and poor a health. The consequences are far reaching and can affect their physical mental health. Some never recover and die.

The third classified eating disorder is obesity. Obesity is the state of having abnormal amounts of fat in the body. This is caused by over eating the wrong kinds of foods. There are 23 million teenagers that are overweight and 3 million suffer from life-threatening obesity. Teenagers suffer rejection and are ostracized because they are too heavy. They are alone, friendless, and their self-image plummets. The only thing solace is to stuff their mouths with food. Therefore, teens suffer physically from their appendices, cirrhosis diabetes and heart disease at an early age.

Eating disorders are serious problems for teenagers. There is too much emphasis on thinness and waif like beauty to be accepted in our society. Despite the amount of therapy a person goes through, it is believed that a person can never be cured of an eating disorder. Teens who have had an eating disorder at one time in their lives will continue to struggle with it, either consciously or unconsciously for the rest of their lives. Eating disorders are very dangerous and should be taken care of as soon as possible.

Works Cited

Eberline, Marcus. Anorexia and Obesity. 2002.Goggle.04/23/04.

www.aacap.org

Erissel, Susan, Harney, Paula Eating Disorders and Weight Control. Berkely Hights:

Enslow Publisher inc. 1997

Johnson, Mike. Teens dealing with Anorexia and Bulimia. 2002. 04/19/04.

Martinez, Nicole. Over Weighted Teens. 2003. Goggle. 04/19/04.

www.annykandi.com

Stewart, Gail. Teens With Eating Disorders. Palms Springs: American Library

association 1999