Medias ' Influence On Eating Disorders

It is apparent that with the increasing popularity of social media today, there has been a shift in dietary changes within our society. Individuals are subconsciously changing how and what they eat. The question arises, why are so many young women dissatisfied with their bodies, despite their size? Although there are several forces believed to play a role in this dissatisfaction such as peer criticism and parental influences, the thin-ideal body is dominating the media (Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008). Thinness is largely emphasized and praised for women in magazines, television shows, movies and commercials (Stice & Shaw, 1992). Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that stems from this ubiquitous obsession to be thin and is often associated with a pathological fear of gaining weight, distorted self-body image and emaciation (The American Heritage® Science Dictionary).

As of the year 2013, an estimated 805 million people worldwide suffer from Hunger. This number represents a group of people who suffer from food insecurity. This means they have inadequate access to food and don’t know when their next meal will be. This being said, an estimated 70 million people worldwide suffer from some sort of eating disorders as of 2015 with 30 million being made up of Americans. Eating Disorders can be defined as any eating habit that negatively affects ones overall health. Media has had a large impact on how both males and females see their bodies.

Eating disorders have become a major problem throughout the world, specifically in the United States. The key factor that has an influence on eating disorders is the media. Including people of all ages and genders, up to twenty-four million people suffer from an eating disorder in the United States (ANAD np). This is a huge problem in the world today but what makes it so much worse is the fact that it can be prevented and it is in our control to change it. Young adults look to these celebrities, which are often their role models, and try to look just like them. What they fail to remember is the fact that celebrities have a lot of money, money that can afford nutritionists and personal trainers. They also fail to remember the extensive measures the celebrities may have to go through to look the way they do. An example of extensive measures can be considered plastic surgery. Ultimately, this creates a false goal that is almost unattainable for the “average” or “regular” person. Overall, the media has overtaken a huge impact on what the “ideal” body image has become today. Eating disorders are still on the rise and it is proven that an eating disorder such as anorexia affects up to 5 percent of women from ages 15-30 years old ("Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders | National Eating Disorders Association np"). This may not seem that significant but it is also not considering other eating disorders such as bulimia. All in all, eating disorders

During your lifetime 250,000 people will die due to an eating disorder. Is this really the type of society we want to be a part of? One which causes people to die needlessly due to media influences which cause the augmentation of a detrimental body image? In the eyes of society emaciated celebrities are the embodiment of perfection. This media ideal of thinness presents society with an unrealistic body image and is projected through the means of television, commercials and magazines, causing women to replicate this ideal. False idealism is the jurisdiction of the 21st century with the number of teenage girls in Britain being admitted to hospital due to anorexia doubling in the last decade. The fundamental reason I chose this topic is

We live in a society ruled by the media. At every turn we’re bombarded with images of what a girl is supposed to look like, what she’s supposed to wear, and how she’s supposed to act. Models range from stick thin to plus size, with no representation of average size six girls to be found. All around the world, girls are starving themselves to look a certain way, with terms like “thigh gap” and “collarbones” running rampant in their minds. But why? What are those things really worth?

Symbolic Interactionism is a theory focusing on the approach that has evolved from social behaviorism and that stresses the symbolic nature of human interaction (p. 46). In society, there are norms and expectations that people are expected to follow and live by and trying to achieve this ideal self-image, people sometime behave in a self-destructing behavior. Because the media creates an image that we are suppose to fit, people will go to the extreme measures to meet this look even if it involves developing an eating disorder (DeGroat).

How does the media alter the perceptions of adolescents' body image? & How does this exposure to the "ideal body" lead adolescents to develop eating disorders?

JADE stands for Joint Advocates for Disordered Eating. Today during class, we had the opportunity to discuss eating disorders and the psychological effects it has on the body. We were asked to describe our own perception of how the media influences the way we look or feel about our body. Furthermore, individuality is not properly expressed in the media; rather this perfect body image is imbedded into our heads.

Many individual’s today would argue that most health problems develop from media. For example, the Modeling Industry is mainly nothing but tall and very slender women. Most would agree that adolescent females see the size of most models and assume that is what is considered beauty. Media does not promote anorexia to distort women’s body images. Most women that starve themselves do not do it because of television, movies, or magazines, etc. They starve themselves to make them feel better and to uplift their self-esteem. Media does not play a role in anorexia because of three main reasons: environmental factors, exercising, and dieting.

We are all exposed to the mass media and not all of us are affected by eating disorders. Media influences messages that teach us about the ideal body and the best way to act. On average, people watch over three hours of television a day. On a typical day, children and teens are engaged in some form of media. As David Hinckley mentioned in his article, “The average American watches more than five hours of live television every day.” They’re introduced to new concepts that can corrupt their childhood. Not all of us are affected by eating disorders, but we all have self- doubt about our bodies. We are always worried about what people might think of us. People need to open their eyes and see the truth. There’s beauty in us and not everyone will see it. It can start as an eating disorder, but it can transform into something more dangerous. Eating disorders are deadly, this might sound dramatic, but it’s true. People die from them every single day and the numbers are growing rapidly. Media is the cause, but so are all of

Since its inception, media significantly impacts the society’s wellbeing. The role of the media in the society includes educating, informing and entertaining. Anorexia is a psychological disorder, affecting the dietary measures. Anorexia significantly affects the youthful population in the community. The media has continuously received notable criticism regarding the promotion of anorexia. In this assignment, the focus is on the role of the media in regards to anorexia.

According to the National Eating Disorder Association the media has a major influence on what a woman’s body should look like. Every print and television advertisement suggests that the ideal body is extremely thin. However, most women cannot achieve having a super-thin body that the media favors. The resulting failure leads to negative feelings about one’s self and can begin a downward spiral toward an eating disorder (National Eating Disorders Association).

“The attention-grabbing pictures of various high-flying supermodels and actors on different magazine covers and advertisements go a long way in influencing our choices” (Bagley). The media is highly affective to everyone, although they promote an improper image of living. Research proved says those with low self-esteem are most influenced by media. Media is not the only culprit behind eating disorders. However, that does not mean that they have no part in eating disorders. Media is omnipresent and challenging it can halt the constant pressure on people to be perfect (Bagley). Socio-cultural influences, like the false images of thin women have been researched to distort eating and cause un-satisfaction of an individual’s body. However, it

Are you ever curious about what factors might influence educated women to have an eating disorder? As a female, I’ve always wondered if eating disorders that I have seen affect women are linked to the ideas that the media puts out for women to consume. Advertisements, television shows and magazines are all categorized as media. Female college students are exposed to media on a day to day basis, and would have to live off the grid to get away from its influence. When researching for my answer I was able to find an article titled, “The Relationship Between Media Consumption and Eating Disorders,” which includes a research study, which may or may not prove that there is a relationship between these two things in female college students. Kristen Harrison and Joanne Cantor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison wrote this article by composing it into sections. The first component includes the definitions of the eating disorders that will be included into the study then, the influence of mass media on women. Then the authors talked about a theory called the social learning theory. Lastly, Harrison and Canton write about their research study including their hypothesis, method and results.

Demi Lovato once said, “I’m not going to sacrifice my mental health to have the perfect body.” However, today we find that many individuals are doing the completely opposite. In Susan Bordo’s, “Globalization of Eating Disorders” essay, they fall into the media trap, the self-image trap, where they are concerned of what people may think about them. Americans nowadays have pageants, modeling, and media to thank for this absurd notion. Fit women, along with strong men give this motivation to others to want to be like them. Most people should be comfortable with their own bodies. Americans are mesmerized with media and enthralled by one’s body image, and ,as a result, face ramifications like eating disorders and anorexia.