- 13/02/2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
The problem of anorexia became more and more frequently spoken about in magazines, and on TV more and more programs are devoted to this growing problem. What is anorexia? According to the common knowledge, anorexia is a loss of appetite, mental disorder, characterized by a prolonged refusal of food and fear set of extra weight. Many associate this disorder with the popularization of the modern ideal of unattainable beauty, but the reasons lie much deeper.
Nowadays anorexia has become a sad reality for many young girls and young women. All women have a desire to conform to a fashionable nowadays standards of beauty, but more correctly – an unhealthy thinness, that is why so many girls just try not to eat to be thin and attractive, that’s why just fall into a swoon from hunger and weakness.
Today, anorexia among well-known people and adolescents occurs most often, and almost always women suffer from it. Moreover, from 100 girls aged 13-14 years, two can be diagnosed with anorexia.
Recently, some countries in Europe and also the USA intensified struggle with anorexia: the government banned the show on television and advertising in the media of too skinny stars, because the frequent problem of anorexia in adolescents can endanger the health of the nation. Due to the fact that the number of patients with anorexia nervosa is growing every day, in the U.S. and Europe this problem is treated rather seriously.
The problem of anorexia, it’s symptoms and cure
For a long time such illness as “anorexia nervosa” was not known – it was singled out as a separate disease only at the beginning of last century. But people began to talk loudly about it only in 1982, when Karen Carpenter, a singer of “Carpenters” died of it.
At different times of anorexia nervosa was called “the disease of ballerinas”, and “model disease”, and a lot of celebrities and models suffered from it: Twiggy and Kate Moss, Princess Diana, actress Jane Fonda and Christina Ricci. And in recent years there are so many facts about the illness among the models, and also few deaths caused by it.
The world community declared war to skinny models, recognizing the fashion for thinness as a main culprit plague of XXI century – anorexia nervosa. Recent studies in the U.S. have revealed 6000 new cases of anorexia only in 2009. Now in the U.S. from exhaustion and irreversible changes in the organism die about 80 people every year. Only the U.S., according to unofficial statistics, one case of anorexia nervosa can be find among 50 students of universities, in colleges in the theater – among 20 students, in ballet schools and among models – among 14 girls. And this is especially outrageous, considering the mortality rate: from 15 to 25% of patients die without receiving a timely and proper treatment.(Attia E, p.425)
Anorexia nervosa –is a disease characterized by weight loss, excessive fear of completeness, a distorted view of their appearance and profound metabolic and hormonal disorders. It is also possible the loss of appetite, cessation of menstruation, increased physical activity, and sometimes increased appetite with artificially induced vomiting after meals, excessive concern with food and its preparation, bouts of gluttony and the desire to lose weight. Patients often stubbornly deny host any associated with eating disorders.
It is difficult to detect the source of the so-called subconscious anorexia, as causes are hidden deeply. Patients usually are obsessed with the desire to lose weight, however, they are afraid of obesity. But patients also perceive their body and weight in distorted way, they consider themselves too fat, very sorry about it, but by all means seek to lose weight.
Short-term anorexia is virtually not dangerous to human health. But the long-term anorexia is to be treated. It contributes to a significant reduction in immunity, and chronic anorexia often leads to this decline, which poses a risk to life. Anorexia can lead to death. It should be noted that among the psychological diseases, it has the highest percentage of mortality.
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