Aneroxia Nervosa: Undetected Killer
...re 368). Evidence suggests that this dieting may be the initiating factor in the development of anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorders. Why all this dieting? Why are so many young people starving themselves to be thin? The answer is in the media. The media takes a major role in establishing society’s body image norms (Tenore 368). Popular media equates beauty with a slender physique (Klein 206-207). For example, in 1950, Marilyn Monroe’s figure was set as the ideal women’s figure, but by 1967 a 92 lb. “ultra-thin” prepubescent British teenager named “Twiggy” reset the ideal figure (Tenore 397). It has stayed that way ever since. A former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, Carre Otis speaks out about the topic, “The media chooses totally unrealistic images of women, highlighting the skinniest models. But even those images are photographically altered. It’s very confusing for us girls”(Group 42). Otis continues, “I used to measure how I felt based on my jeans size and how skinny I was. Now I see myself in terms of health. Can I get through my run in the morning? Can I make it through my yoga class? We need to appreciate our own individual body types, be the best we can be and get away from comparisons-that’s a killer!” (Group 42). She is right; that is a killer. In fact, the mental illness with the highest premature fatality rate is anorexia nervosa (Group 42). Anorexia and bulimia affect about ten million women and one million men in the United States and each case can turn fatal (Group 42). Aside from anorexia, it is estimated that 25 million more people suffer from binge eating disorder (Group 42). Even if each one of the millions of suffers seek help, who would be there to help them? They can’t turn to physicians and other health professi...