Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are extremely dangers for someone to actually go through. People need to believe in themselves and keep telling themselves that they are beautiful inside and out and that being thin is not the answer to everything. Anorexia and bulimia can cost people their lives, people need to think twice before they do something they will regret. The book Eating Disorders Information for Teens says “accept your body’s genetic predisposition.
All bodies are wired to be fatter, thinner or in between. This includes fatter in some places and thinner in others. Regardless of efforts to change it, over time your body will fight to maintain or resume the shape it was born to be. You may force your body into sizes and shapes that you prefer, but you can not beat Mother Nature without a tremendous cost” (Lawton 2005: 161). People should “maintain [their] integrity as a human being” (Lawton 2005: 162).
Regardless of how media represents image, image isn’t everything; the way people represent themselves is a part of who they are and they need to realize that no matter what they look like, thin, fat, or average, they need to accept themselves for who they are. Anorexia and bulimia are not the answers to anyone’s problems; it will just make things harder, stressful and worse for the people that experience those types of eating disorders.
Work Cited
Murray, Trish. “Wait Not, Want Not: Factors Contributing to the Development of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.” os 11.3 (2003): 276-280. 21 Feb. 2008.
Costin, Carolyn. The Eating Disorder Sourcebook. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Lowell House, 1999. 1-283.
Lawton, Sandra A. Eating Disorder Information for Teens. 1st ed. Detroit: Omnigraphics, Inc, 2005. 3-304.
“Mental Health and Well-Being Profile, Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), by Age Group and Sex, Canada and Provinces, Occasional.” Statistics Canada. 30 Nov. 2006. 21 Feb. 2008 <http://cansim2.statcan.ca/cgi-win/CNSMCGI.PGM>.
“Science Could Erase Stigma of Anorexia.” Washington Post 11 Jan. 2008. 21 Feb. 2008 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011102910.html>.
McCann, Doug, Weiten, Wayne. Psychology: themes and variations. 1st ed. Canada: Nelson a division of Thomson Canada Limited, 2007. 614-615.