The articles, Anorexia Nervosa: Friend or Foe? by, Lucy Serpell, Janet Treasure, John Teasdale and Victoria Sullivan and Bulima Nervosa: Friend or Foe? The Pros and Cons of Bulimia Nervosa by, Lucy Serpell and Janet Treasure as well as the documentary, Dying to be Thin by, Larkin McPhee, generated a very strong personal response during my review. Growing up, my life was consumed with eating disorders. My oldest sister battled with anorexia nervosa (AN) and four of my closest friends during my teenage years battled with both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (BN). While not a victim of an eating disorder myself, I was surrounded by them and felt the effects. Fun was hampered, activities were tailored and none of my actions had the ability to affect healthy change on those suffering around me. From a teenager’s perspective, this was a combination of frustration and concern.
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While understanding the goal of the studies was to categorize elements from the vantage point of those suffering from either AN or BN, there seemed to be a focus on pros and cons beyond that of the patients’ perspective and coming through from the authors’ voices as they wrote. I feel that we, as a society, need to be cautious as to where and how we place value on characteristics such as weight and appearance. The point of society’s impact on self-esteem and worth is brought up in the documentary, Dying to be Thin. It has easily slipped into our daily values and, as demonstrated by these studies examined by Serpell, et al. (1998 and 2001), elements that should remain objective, such as research studies. While I am relatively confident this was not their intent, it goes to prove that what is valued as beauty has worked its way across all areas of who we are as a society and can have an overall impact on the way we treat eating
While understanding the goal of the studies was to categorize elements from the vantage point of those suffering from either AN or BN, there seemed to be a focus on pros and cons beyond that of the patients’ perspective and coming through from the authors’ voices as they wrote. I feel that we, as a society, need to be cautious as to where and how we place value on characteristics such as weight and appearance. The point of society’s impact on self-esteem and worth is brought up in the documentary, Dying to be Thin. It has easily slipped into our daily values and, as demonstrated by these studies examined by Serpell, et al. (1998 and 2001), elements that should remain objective, such as research studies. While I am relatively confident this was not their intent, it goes to prove that what is valued as beauty has worked its way across all areas of who we are as a society and can have an overall impact on the way we treat eating