1. Perfection
Like any other illness, eating disorders need to be diagnosed by a health care professional. People with eating disorders may also have psychological problems (WebMD.Com Eating 1). Because of this, medical and mental healthcare workers are able to diagnose both disorders (ANRED Treatment 3). The Mayo Clinic states that race, age, and social status of patients are also factors that affect the diagnosis of eating disorders: .
One misconception is that eating disorders are confined to young white people from affluent families. People of all races, ethnic groups and socioeconomic levels can be affected. In the United States, researchers have found that Hispanics are diagnosed with eating disorders at about the same rate as whites, while higher rates are found among American Indians. Although the disorders are less common among young people who are Asian and black, there is evidence that blacks are more likely to develop bulimia than anorexia. (MayoClinic.Com 3) .
Males suffering from anorexia and bulimia are often not correctly diagnosed. Some healthcare professionals consider eating disorders to be a female problem, .
and therefore, fail to properly diagnose males with these disorders (ANRED Males 1). However, men are just as affected by societies demand for the perfect body. Colleen Rush of Dr.Drew.Com writes,?of the 5 million Americans who suffer from eating disorders, approximately 10 percent--or 500,000--are men? (Rush 1). Anorexics are usually very thin, with a body weight that is 15% below their required body weight. However, in addition to assessing their physical appears, doctors must also perform an Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and an Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) to determine if a patient is truly anorexic and not afflicted with a psychological disorder (?Anorexia Nervosa? 4). Bulimia may be harder to diagnose because bulimics may not be visibly underweight and may even be overweight (AABA Bulimia 1).
Yet they still feel fat, and continue to starve themselves. ... Anorexics feel as if they are heavier than the others around them, and believe the fastest way to lose weight is to simply starve themselves. Another cause of anorexia is the need to obtain perfection. ... Then when they look at themselves and don't see perfection they "punish" themselves by restriction or starvation. ... There are no general answers to why people become anorexic and why when on the brink of death they continue to starve themselves. ...
This causes many girls to starve themselves to be the "ideal figure. Another factor contributing to anorexia is the need to obtain perfection. Perfection, for some families, is a must not only to strive for, but achieve. ... When they cannot achieve perfection, they "punish" themselves by restriction or starvation. ...
Thousands of teenagers are starving themselves every day in an effort to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the "ideal" figure. ... Another factor contributing to anorexia is the need to achieve perfection. ... When they cannot accomplish perfection, they punish themselves by starvation. ... Miss Pearson explains " I loved the power I felt in starving myself"( Cove, 1998). ...
The extreme lengths women will go to in their never ending pursuit of perfection, prove that we have become a society obsessed with image. In this quest for perfection, women are now turning to extremely drastic measures; they are physically changing their bodies through cosmetic surgery. ... Barbie seems to embody perfection. ... Women are literally starving themselves in attempts to loose weight and emulate the media's depiction of the perfect body. ... In conclusion, the extreme lengths women will go to in their never ending pursuit of perfection, prove that we have become a soc...
There is so much emphasis on striving for perfection that not enough people realize how unrealistic this goal of looking like the perfect supermodel is. ... So many people try horrendous diets, exercise far too often than needed, and starve themselves for a goal that sadly they will not accomplish. ... The constant desire and drive for this unattainable perfection. ... In a constantly changing world with so many problems there needs to be a media turn around and less emphasis should be made on perfection. ...
There is so much emphasis on striving for perfection that not enough people realize how unrealistic this goal of looking like the perfect supermodel is. ... So many people try horrendous diets, exercise far too often than needed, and starve themselves for a goal that sadly they will not accomplish. ... The constant desire and drive for this unattainable perfection. ... In a constantly changing world with so many problems there needs to be a media turn around and less emphasis should be made on perfection. ...
The whole concept of "perfection" is just a tool which companies use to sell their product. ... People are dying because of an obsession with trying to attain that "perfection" which doesn't exist anyway. ... Several models have admitted to starving themselves to get thin just to fit the industry's image. ...
They found that some certain personality traits common in persons with Anorexia Nervosa are low self-esteem, sexual or physical abuse and perfectionism. ... This means that about one out of every one hundred young women between ten and twenty years of age are starving themselves. ... In the worst-case scenario, people with anorexia can starve themselves to death. ...