Women and Their Eating Disorders - Coursework Example

Women and Their Eating Disorders School: INTRODUCTION Eating disorders are the illnesses that trigger disturbances to the daily dietary patterns of individuals; the effects of eating disorders include heavy overeating or extreme under eating (Becker et al., 1999). The person affected by an eating disorder could experience the beginning of the problem, as moderate differences of overeating or under eating, but then the urge to overeat or under eating small spirals to uncontrollable levels (Fairburn et al., 2007). Eating disorders, often develop among teenagers or young adults, but may also develop among children or adults. The eating disorders that are commonly known to affect the general population include bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa and binge-eating disorder (Fairburn et al., 2007). Eating disorders are known to affect both women and men, but are more common among women and less common among men (Keel et al., 2007). A variety of studies, including Keel et al. (2007) have reported that the development of eating disorders is triggered by the cultural ideals socialised within society, about the ideal shape and size of the body of women, which is considerably below the weight of an average woman. The social model communicated by the media and the society triggers the feelings of dissatisfaction, which are complemented by the attention offered to weight changes among women, leading to depression. This paper will explore the eating disorders of women, contrasting incidence levels with those of men, where it can shed more light on the depth of the problem. DISCUSSION The eating disorders of women Disordered eating and eating disorders are complex problems affecting both women and men, but which are more common among women. The development of eating disorders is triggered by a variety of factors: familial, cultural, social, biological and psychological. Contrary to the thinking of many people, eating disorders are not entirely related to weight issues and food (Becker et al., 1999). Instead, weight and food issues are the indicators of the intrinsic problem underlying the symptoms. In order to understand disordered eating and eating disorders more deeply, it is important to examine these problems and the people affected by them, as well as the many factors that contribute to the development of the problems (Becker et al., 1999). Many women suffer from the difficulties caused by disordered eating, but only the behaviours of a few progress into full-blown disorders, including bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder (Becker et al., 1999). Anorexia nervosa This disorder refers to self-imposed starvation, which is caused by the fear of becoming fat or gaining weight. In many cases, the victims are underweight, at below 15 percent the weight of a healthy person of their height and stature. The disorder is characterised by the distortion of the body image of the victim; she will hold the opinion that she is fat, irrespective of being underweight (Becker et al., 1999). Among women, this eating disorder triggers amenorrhea, which is the loss of three consecutive menstrual cycles. Bulimia nervosa This disorder refers to the recurrence of purging and binge eating, for at least twice a week. During the incidence of a binge, the person will consume foods that contribute uncontrollably large calorie counts of between 1500 and 3000 in a span of less than one hour (Becker et al., 1999). The outcomes of the behaviour include the feelings of disgust, guilt and fear; these feelings make the victim want to use any means, available to them, to eliminate the foods taken. Some victims can result to the use of diuretics, vomiting, fasting, using laxatives and doing excessive exercise. Binge eating disorder This disorder refers to the recurrence of binge eating, at least two times in a week, but without purging. The behaviours make a woman feel disgust, guilt, extreme distress or depression, with her situation (Becker et al., 1999). Despite not experiencing purging, the person can do repetitive diets or sporadic fasting. The factors underlying the development of disordered eating and eating disorders Size prejudice In the American culture, especially in Southern California, much emphases is offered to appearance, size and body weight. Women, in particular, are socialised and conditioned, from a tender age to believe that self-worth is directly attributed to the external appearance of their bodies. In the case of women, being highly figured and thin is associated with success, being hardworking, beauty, popularity, discipline and strength. Being fat in the American society, on the other hand, is related to the negative characteristics of being ignorant, lazy, weak, and ugly and lacking the will-power associated to success and hardworking people. This stereotyping is very universally accepted in the society and is further reinforced by the views of friends and family, the media, and also highly-esteemed health experts (Taylor et al., 2006). For that reason, people will often be judged unfairly or judge others negatively, based on their shape, size and weight. This societal pressure compels people to pursue the ideal physique, so as to feel more accepted in society, happier and to get associated with success. Social and family demands Women will often feel considerable pressure to become thin, in order for them to be accepted in society and feel attractive to the members of the opposite sex. In particular, Los Angeles is affected by the craze for diet, weight and fitness, and that makes the members of the society and the family exert pressure on others, so that they can meet the socialised standards (Poorani, 2012). The pressure is more intense, in the case of college-going women who are members of social groups like fraternities or residential halls. The negative talk that characterises the speech and the conversations of the members of such groups pressures women to compare their bodies with the ideal size, even though it may not have been a concern in the past. In other cases, parents and family members can pressure their relatives, through criticising food intake patterns and body weight, which gives them the idea that their acceptance is dependent on attaining the ideal body size (Taylor et al., 2006). The media The media sets the standards for the beauty of women, and in many cases, the standards of appearance and body weight that are considered standard are extremely difficult to attain. For example, women, right from childhood are accustomed to the idea that an ideal woman’s body should appear like that of Barbie (having huge breasts but no body fat on the body). In real life, Barbie would weigh 110 lbs and have a height of 5’9’’ (Poorani, 2012). It is important to note that 110 lbs are only 76 percent of the body weight considered healthy for a woman of that height. The ideals of the perfect body shape and size are reinforced by different media sources, including TV, magazines, movies and even video games (Silberg & Bulik, 2005). Particularly, in the case of women, the ideal size keeps becoming thinner. Twenty-five years back, the ideal woman weighed less than the average woman, by about 8 percent, but at present, the average female model weighs 23 percent less than the weight of the average woman (Poorani, 2012). Medical weight standards Height and weight measurements are routinely conducted at health clinics, and after the tests, individuals are labelled as either underweight, healthy, overweight or suffering from obesity (Silberg & Bulik, 2005). In many cases, many medical personnel will recommend weight loss, seeking the advice of dieticians, or considering drugs or surgery, even without paying attention to the exercise patterns and eating habits; little attention is offered to an individual’s levels of fitness (Poorani, 2012). Underlying personality disorders, anxiety and mood Many of the individuals suffering from eating disorders have also been found to show the symptoms of other psychiatric problems, including anxiety disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and borderline personality. As a matter of fact, disordered eating behaviours like compulsive exercise, binge eating, controlling of calories and obsessive calorie counting has been identified as adaptive mechanisms to the chemical imbalances that are underlying the problem of the victim (Silberg & Bulik, 2005). Background to the problem of eating disorders and disordered eating among women Since childhood, women develop a finely refined conception about the shape and the size of the model body; women internalize the standards demonstrated and communicated in covert ways, about the standards to be met by female beauty. In western societies, in particular, women develop a clear model about the standards that define the beauty of a woman (Poorani, 2012). The ideal of beauty is highly pursued and respected among the women from higher socioeconomic cases, because they emulate the ideals of the beauty displayed through fashion media and other media (Poorani, 2012). The ideal body size of a woman has continued to thin. Being a member of a culture that idealizes the model thin body size, which is thinner than the size of the average woman, can be used to describe the subconscious belief that cuts across a wide population among women (Keel et al., 2007). The difference in the model compels women to hold the belief that they are heavier and fatter than the ideal size; the ideal size of a woman is considered to be highly attractive to the opposite sex. The phenomenon is very common among young and middle-aged women, due to the discrepancies they identity between their body weight and the ideal weight of the ideal woman; the discrepancies are more impactful among women, as compared to men. Carlson, Isenstat and Ziporyn (2004) gave the justification to the higher levels of depression and the rate of eating disorders in women (as compared to men). The study reported that the self-esteem of women is closely linked to their appearance and their views about their match with the ideal body size and type. Taking the three preconditions explored before, into account can give answers about the higher rate of eating disorders and self-imposed depression among women. The preconditions include that 1) many cultures have developed an ideal body size (thinness) for women, which is hard-to-attain and 2) women and society compare the body size and shape of women with that of the ideal woman. The comparison uncovers divergence from the ideal and 3) the self-esteem of women is closely associated with their physical appearance (Carlson, Isenstat and Ziporyn, 2004). These preconditions can explain the higher dissatisfaction of women with their body size and shapes (Keel et al., 2007). Changes in disordered eating and eating disorders from adolescence through young adulthood to adulthood Epidemiological studies show that the risk of suffering from eating disorders reaches its peak levels during the developmental stages of adolescence and young adulthood (Hudson et al., 2007). The statistics imply that cases of the women suffering from eating disorders and disordered eating are high among adolescent girls and the women in the young adulthood stage, as compared to those from other stages of development (Keel et al., 2007). The cross-sectional data gathered through research like Keel et al. (2007) has also given evidence that women, usually grow out of eating disorders, especially bulimia nervosa, as their age advances. However, the cohort effects that come into play can justify the differences in the age-distribution of eating disorders. This is the case, as the rate of eating disorders, especially bulimia nervosa, heightened towards the end of the 20th century, which may imply that the dynamics of sociohistorical factors, including the idolization of thinness heightened the risks of developing the disorder (Keel & Klump, 2003). As a potential determinant of the levels of eating disorders, the factors identified to contribute to higher levels of the disorders had greater implications for young adults and adolescent girls. Young women, in particular, are more likely to identify with and accept that their attractiveness and self-worth is not favourable, which becomes a major factor behind the development of bulimia nervosa (Poorani, 2012). Different from the case of younger women, older women are likely to have solidified their sense of self-worth, before the cultural obsession with thinness became an established ideal in society. The differences in the safety and the vulnerability of the older as compared to the younger population may have been the factor underlying the age cohort and the incidence levels of eating disorders registered during epidemiological studies (Keel et al., 2007). Towards addressing the misinformation that could be reflected by the cohort effects of previous studies, more recent studies have compared the rate of eating disorders in one cohort over a period of years; the studies adopted a longitudinal design (Steinhausen, Gavez, & Metzke, 2005). Literature review covering the rate of eating disorders among women From the research that tracked the incidence of eating disorders, throughout the developmental stages of adolescence to adulthood, the incidence levels between mid-adolescence and young adulthood registered decreases in easting disorders. The disorders reduced included binge-eating, fasting, diuretic use, restrictive dieting and laxative use over a period of six years (Steinhausen, Gavez & Metzke, 2005). More recent research arrived at the conclusion that the risks of developing eating disorders reduces as women progress from adolescence to adulthood, which is not the case with men (Keel et al., 2007). Despite the fact that the research reported that body size and weight increased as the ages of the subjects increased, female subjects reported higher levels of satisfaction with their weight and reductions in their vulnerability to the development of eating disorders. The case was different among the male subjects covered by the studies, as the statistics showed that men became more dissatisfied with their weight after undergoing the weight increases that came with advances in age (Keel et al., 2007). Due to the increased dissatisfaction with their weight, the male subjects reported that their vulnerability to eating disorders and disordered eating had increased. One of the alarming differences between the incidence levels of eating disorders between women and their male counterparts included that, during college years, the ratio of women to men suffering from clinical eating disorders was 5:1 (Johnson et al., 2006). The follow-up made ten years after studying the subjects during their college years showed that the ratio of risk had reduced to 3:2. The findings of the different studies show that, irrespective of the fact that eating disorders are more prevalent among women as compared to men, all-through the time of study, the difference between the two genders reduced substantially over the years (Ricciardelli & MaCabe, 2004). The conclusions of the research done among men and women demonstrate that adulthood developmental transitions favour women, as compared to their male counterparts, in the area of eating pathology (Keel et al., 2007). CONCLUSION Eating disorders causes imbalances in the dietary patterns of individuals, and the associated symptoms, including overeating or under eating. The eating disorders of women are complex problems, whose development is triggered by a variety of factors, including social, biological and cultural ones, among others. The common eating disorders of women include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating. The factors underlying the development of eating disorders include size prejudice, social and family demands, the influence of the media, medical weight standards and underlying personality differences. The problem of eating disorders is more common among women than men, mainly because women associate appearance to self-worth. References Becker, A.E., Grinspoon, S.K., Klibanski, A., & Herzog, D.B. (1999). Eating disorders. New England Journal of Medicine, 340(14), 1092–1098. Carlson, K., Isenstat, C., and Ziporyn, T. (2004). The New Harvard Guide to Womens Health. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Fairburn, C.G., Cooper, Z., Bohn, K., O’Connor, M.E., Doll, H.A., & Palmer, R.L. (2007). The severity and status of eating disorder NOS: implications for DSM-V. Behavior Research and Therapy, 45(8), 1705–1715. Keel, P.K., Baxter, M.G., Heatherton, T.F., & Joiner, T.E. Jr. (2007). A 20-Year Longitudinal Study of Body Weight, Dieting, and Eating Disorder Symptoms. 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