Speech on Eating Disorders
Stern College
Sara woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and said “uch.” On her way out
the door, she grabbed a banana and went to school. She didn’t eat for the rest of the day.
Jessica had three slices of pizza, spicy fries, and a milkshake for lunch and then after her
friends went back to class, she went to the bathroom and made herself throw up. By now
I’m sure you all figured out where I’m going with this. Sara and Jessica both suffer from
different types of eating disorder. An eating disorder is characterized by abnormal eating
habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake.
The two main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
From the two situations that I mentioned before, Sara would be an example of someone
who suffers from anorexia and Jessica is someone who suffers from bulimia.
A person with an eating disorder may have started out just eating smaller or larger
amounts of food than usual, but at some point, the urge to eat less or more spirals out of
control.
Anorexia is one of the main types of eating disorders. According to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV),
anorexia nervosa is defined as "the refusal to maintain body weight about 85% of the
expected weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, a distortion of body image,
emaciation, and missing at least 3 consecutive menstrual periods." Many people with
anorexia see themselves as overweight, even when they are starved and are clearly
malnourished. Eating, food, and weight control become obsessions. A person with
anorexia typically weighs herself repeatedly, portions food carefully, and only eats very
small amounts of only certain foods. Illness often results from anorexia. Some of the
most common complications are cardiac arrest and electrolyte and fluid imbalances.
Suicide can also result. Other symptoms that can develop are osteoporosis, brittle hair
and nails, mild anemia, and reduced muscle mass.
Anorexia is a condition that goes beyond out of control dieting. A person with
anorexia may begin dieting to lose weight. As they continue to diet and lose weight they
begin to feel a sense of mastery and control over their own body. They eventually care
less about becoming thin. They care about the feeling of control they have over their own
bodies. Former victims of anorexia say this sense of control gives them a certain high and
it makes them feel good. This eventually leads to starvation, excessive exercising and
dieting in order to maintain that control. This cycle eventually becomes an addiction.
Bulimia is another main type of eating disorder. Bulimia is characterized by
frequent episodes of eating large amounts of food and feeling a lack of control over
eating. This binge eating is followed by a type of behavior that compensates for the
binge, such as throwing up or excessive use of laxatives. Unlike anorexia, people with
bulimia are usually of normal weight. Bulimic behavior is done in secrecy because it is
usually accompanied by feelings of shame or disgust. People with bulimia see their
disorder as abnormal and therefore they are ashamed of their actions. Similar to anorexia,
illness can also result from throwing up. Some conditions include electrolyte imbalance,
gastrointestinal problems, tooth problems including the wearing of tooth enamel and the
eventual decaying of teeth, and severe dehydration. The acid in vomit can wear down the
outer layer of the teeth, inflame and damage the esophagus (a tube in the throat through
which food passes to the stomach), and enlarge the glands near the cheeks (giving the
appearance of swollen cheeks). Damage to the stomach can also occur from frequent
vomiting.
Eating disorders are also considered psychological disorders. According to the
DSM-IV, eating disorders are classified as Axis-1 disorders. This is saying that people
who have an eating disorder usually have a coexisting psychological disorder. The
disorders that are part of Axis-1 are depression, substance abuse, anxiety disorders,
obsessive compulsive disorders, and ADHD.
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, the average American
woman is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is 5
feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 117 pounds. All too often, society associates being "thin",
with "hard-working, beautiful, strong and self-disciplined." On the other hand, being "fat"
is associated with being "lazy, ugly, weak and lacking will-power." Because of these
harsh critiques, rarely are women completely satisfied with their image. As a result, they
often feel great anxiety and pressure to achieve and/or maintain an imaginary appearance.
There are many causes to eating disorders. Culture is a major factor in the cause
of eating disorders. Women in the U.S. are under constant pressure to fit a certain ideal of
beauty. Seeing images of flawless, thin women everywhere makes it hard for women to
feel good about their bodies. There is an unrealistic stereotype of what beauty is and what
the ideal weight is. Young girls are watching TV and fashion and they see models that are
unrealistically thin. Everyone in Hollywood is thin and these girls believe that this is
what they are supposed to look like. In recent survey by Teen People magazine, 69% of
the girls felt that the media pressures and magazine models influence them to have a
perfect body. Advertisements emphasize thinness as a standard for female beauty, and the
bodies idealized in the media are frequently atypical of normal, healthy women. In fact,
today's fashion models weigh 23% less than the average female, and a young woman
between the ages of 18-34 has a 7% chance of being as slim as a catwalk model and a 1%
chance of being as thin as a supermodel.
Parenting styles can also contribute to unhealthy eating habits. If a parent is very
restrictive, a perfectionist, very performance oriented it may cause the child to feel like
she needs to be perfect.
Peer pressure is another major factor that can cause an eating disorder. Eleanor
Mackey and Annette M. La Greca of the University of Miami studied 236 teen girls from
public schools in southeast Florida. They found that teen girls’ concerns about their own
weight, about how they appear to others and their perceptions that their peers want them
to be thin are significantly related to weight-control behavior.
As you may already know, eating disorders are more common in women than
men. 95 percent of people affected by anorexia are women but men can still be affected.
Anorexia affects men in a similar way as it affects women. However, a slight difference
is that some men want to become thin while other men have an extreme concern with
becoming more muscular. Boys who think they are too small are at great risk for using
steroids or other dangerous drugs to increase their muscle mass.
Although men can be affected, girls are more vulnerable to eating disorders. As I
mentioned before, the media is a major cause of eating disorders in young girls. Girls are
more likely to be affected because they are more likely to internalize the ideas from the
media.
Although anyone could be affected by an eating disorder, in the U.S. and other
countries with high economic status, it is estimated that about one out of every 100
adolescent girls has the disorder. Anorexia is more common in middle and upper
socioeconomic groups. These girls have more money, they can afford designer clothes
which are small and there’s more pressure in these types of groups.
The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders has
published the following eating disorder statistics:
Females with anorexia have a higher suicide rate than those with any other mental
health disorder and the general population
Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder.
A study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
reported that 5 – 10% of anorexics die within 10 years after contracting the disease; 1820% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years and only 30 – 40% ever fully recover
20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to
their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems
80% of 13-year-olds have attempted to lose weight
Eating disorders are estimated to affect 5 million females and 1 million in one
year.
I chose to speak about eating disorders because I think that everyone should be
aware that eating disorders really do exist and they are even occurring in the Jewish
orthodox communities. Unfortunately I personally know two people who suffered from
eating disorders. One of my friends suffered from anorexia. She would barely eat 200
calories a day and she saw herself as fat even when she was under 100 pounds.
Eventually her friends and family stepped in and sent her to rehab. Another one of my
friends suffered from bulimia. Bulimia is harder to detect because if you don’t eat with
the person you won’t necessarily know there is anything wrong. After eating a meal my
friend would secretly go to the bathroom and make herself throw up. This friend was also
sent to rehab. Eating disorders are treatable if detected early enough and thank G-D both
of my friends are healthy today.
Unfortunately there is another situation that is close to me. A few years ago my
husband’s Rosh Yeshiva’s 18 year old daughter died from anorexia. Like most other
cases, she died from the illnesses that result from the disorder. This just shows that eating
disorders are not only happening in the public school systems. People in our communities
are being affected as well.
The message that I want to end my speech with is that everyone here is beautiful and if
you know someone who is suffering from an eating disorder don’t be afraid to get them
help because they will appreciate it in the long run.