In the book Eating Disorders Information for Teens, it is said that bulimia nervosa “is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by unhealthy methods of getting rid of food to avoid gaining weight, such as vomiting, abusive use of laxative or water pills, fasting, and extreme exercise.
Bulimics usually resort to these methods after compulsively eating large amounts of food in a short period of time, a behaviour known as binge eating. The syndrome is called ‘binging and purging.’ However, some bulimics will engage in purging simply if they eat more food than they feel they should” (Lawton 2005: 91). Most people think that bulimia is the best way to control weight without dieting, which is not true because people who are bulimic can get out of control and can put their lives at risk.
People turn bulimic because they are feeling out of control because of difficulties at home, they hide their anger, they feel undeserving and/or because they are experiencing major life changes, such as divorce, family problems, loss of a relationship, a move etc. People that suffer from this illness are able to hide it for many years because they are able to maintain a normal body weight. However, they are afraid of gaining weight, so they end up getting rid of all the food they eat by vomiting, this causes them to maintain their weight and not get fat. This illness can lead to a heart attack.
With all the vomiting a person does it can inflame the throat and damage the teeth. They also develop depression and other mental illnesses. In Wait Not, Want Not: Factors Contributing to the Development of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa “those patients presenting with bulimia, studies suggest that there is a strong relationship with this type of eating disorder and depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse disorders” (Murray 2003: 2).
Those suffering from bulimia suffer from other illnesses as well these other illnesses need to treated accordingly. Unlike anorexia, people that are bulimic tend to eat more, so it is hard for people to tell if a person is bulimic. Bulimics are concerned about their body size, are afraid of gaining weight, have a low self-image and as mentioned before eat in secrecy. Their image is more important to them than health. People know what the consequences are when they become bulimic, however they do not seem to care about the risks they put themselves into, looking good is what matters most to them.
According to Statistics Canada it is proven that females are more at risk of eating disorder than males. In Ontario, in 2002, females 15 years and over had a percentage of 3.1% that were at risk of an eating disorder, while males were about 0.6% at risk of an eating disorder. It is more likely for females to be at risk of an eating disorder because based on how the media portrays an ideal image of an individual; most females want to embody that same exact image. Females think that being extremely thin is better than looking fat, so this causes females to go on strict diets to look like the females that are shown in the media (such as models and celebrities).
It is most important for females to look good, than to think about more important things in life such as health, and what they want to be in the future. The book Eating Disorder Sourcebook mentions how, “in today’s culture, thinness represents not only attractiveness but also self-sacrifice, virtue, success and control.
The pervasive attitude seems to be that the more fat one has on his or her body, the more unattractive, self indulgent, lazy and out of control one is. Culturally dictated definitions such as these are portrayed to us in various ways through the media” (Costin 1999: 53).
It is proven that media affects the way females feel about themselves and the way they look. People have to be skinny to become a model and most celebrities have a body to die for. This causes females to want the same image so they can feel good about themselves. Being thin makes females think that, that is the only way one can be sexy, which is not the case. Everybody is beautiful in their own ways; people come in different shapes and sizes. Being thin is not the only image that can make someone feel beautiful.
People can be beautiful in anyways they want to be they just have to be confident in themselves and have a high self esteem in the way they look. They need to feel comfortable about themselves. However, they should not look up to the media because there are more important things in life than just being skinny. Media corrupts society and people should be smarter than to look up to the models or celebrities because they are sending the wrong message to people.