Eating Disorders In Modern Culture

Today’s modern culture puts an emphasis on body image. For example, models who flaunt their dangerously thin physiques in magazines and the runway. This leads many people to feel insecure about themselves, causing them to resort to eating disorders to attain society’s standards of beauty. Concerns for eating disorders are on the rise as they leave both a physical and emotional mark on society. Eating disorders are categorized as a mental disorder, in which a person experiences abnormal eating patterns. Eating disorders include: Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge eating disorder. One might starve, eat uncontrollably, or induce vomit,which puts their health at risk. The exact cause for remains unknown. However, environmental factors are shown to be a significant part in the development of eating disorders. Such factors include: low self esteem and the overall pressure to look good. The pressure to look good stems from the idea that the thinner a person is the more attractive they are. The effects of eating disorders can leave an emotional scar on the victim and possibly destroy one’s health from within. …show more content…
The media portrays the standard of beauty as being thin which can add as a factor to eating disorders. Mostly seen on the stick figured models or the unrealistic photoshop. This leads to insecurities in today’s society and to the impressionable youth. According to a survey, 47% of American elementary school girls say that the pictures from magazines influence them to lose weight (Get The Facts On Eating Disorders). In addition, 42% of elementary school girls want to be thinner (Get The Facts On Eating Disorders). These are alarming statistics but is it really alarming when daily advertisements emphasize the idea of thinness in