Media Affects Eating Disorders - How The Media Affects Eating Disorders In Adolescents

Eating disorders are gradually becoming a common issue in modern days. Most of the young people are not shielded from the impact of the media. So, it really is crucial that people should be aware on how to prevent eating disorders. The media in fact has a major influence on the development of eating disorders. It actually helps to set unrealistic expectations on what body image is considered beautiful. By being constantly showing, the mental development of the youth or children get distorted. Some families unintentionally use the television as a babysitter. This is dangerous as children can easily be quite impressionable. So people will need to prevent eating disorders from an early age.

Thin and skinny models are often used by the media. It has been found that the actual body weight of an average female model used is about 25% less than her ideal weight. Thus, the skinny model often achieves her looks unnaturally. Most of these thin models have either undergone plastic surgery or are anorexic and having an eating disorder themselves. The photos, not forgetting, that appear on print media such as magazines are often airbrushed to hide or take away any alleged flaws. A beauty standard in this manner, is set that realistically, is hardly attainable.

The rate of exposure to images is at least 400 to 600 times per day. These figures represent the typical number of advertisements that people view on a per day basis. So one effective way to prevent the eating disorder; is to cut down the exposure to these advertisements. Also people should note that one out of eleven of these advertisements are actually for a beauty product.

The children in school may be subjected to be in pressure. Young kids can be mean unintentionally and often tease each other about their flabby appearance. If the child has a low self esteem, he or she may be likely to yield to these pressures by starving or through developing bulimia. Studies show that normally one out of seven college-aged females has a problem with bulimia, and one out of a hundred has a problem with anorexia. These child sufferers need psychotherapy as the causes are often deeply rooted on a psychological level. If no proper treatment is sought, eating disorders can escalate out of control. One out of every ten normal people who suffer from an eating disorder eventually dies because of the damage to the body that the eating disorder causes.

Preventing eating disorder is clearly a serious issue that everyone will need to do more for. The media needs to play a more responsible role on the images shown to the impressionable younger generations. It is not right that all people do is to point an accusing finger at the media. There is much that people can do if they do not want their future generations to hurt their bodies through eating disorders. More preventative measures for eating disorder will have to be in place. The children have the unique problem of being both vulnerable and cruel, and when someone is teased about the appearance of their body, the likelihood of an eating disorder may become more and more evident. While people may think that eating disorders aren't altogether present in their culture on a large scale, they may be shocked to hear the findings of studies which showed that a full nearly fifteen percent of college-aged girls has a problem with bulimia, and more than one percent are considered anorexic.

• Felicia Byrnes
• 02/01/2009, 6:59 AM
• 0 Comments