Brynn has a seemingly perfect life. She is the captain of the varsity cheerleading team, plays the violin, and has straight A’s. Brynn also participates in school plays and musicals because she enjoys dancing. She has always been viewed by others as beautiful, fun, and very talented. But Brynn does not see herself the way others do. Brynn has been battling an eating disorder for two years as a result of her judging herself and body harshly in a negative way. She wants to change the way she looks more than anything. But Brynn is not alone, “more than 90 percent of girls - 15 to 17 years old- want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance, with body weight ranking the highest” (Statistics). Poor body image …show more content…
The increasing rate of eating disorders supports the idea of negative body image and dieting being more common in today’s society. According to CNN, “A study conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality showed that hospitalizations for eating disorders in children under 12 increased by 119% between 1999 and 2006” (Cindy). Increasing rates of eating disorders means dieting was on the rise because “dieting is the most important predictor of new eating disorders”(Body). Additionally, “an eating disorders was 5 times more likely to develop in teens who dieted moderately”(Body). Dieting plays a huge role in the development of eating disorders. According to About-Face.com, “The fact that someone is dieting increases the risk that she or he will overeat or binge to counteract the effects of calorie deprivation. Dieting encourages a shift from a reliance on physiological reasons for eating (feelings of hunger) to psychological control over eating behaviors (a person’s feeling that he or she shouldn’t eat so much, for example). Lowered body satisfaction, appearance satisfaction, and pressure to be thin all increase with an increase in binge eating”(Body). Binge eating disorder becomes more prevalent with the desire to diet and lose weight. Which is why “80% of children who are 10 years old are afraid of being fat”(Body), but more than “9 million teens in America below 15 years of age are obese”(Statistics). Since dieting is more common today and puts adolescents at risk of developing binge eating disorder, “that’s three times more than in 1980”(Statistics). Because “there are numerous studies that cite the psychological connection between poor body image and dieting”(Body), not only is dieting increasing so is negative body