Everyday in the papers there are articles saying that the media keeps on portraying these tiny tiny models and thats the reason why females AND MALES (yes we get it too), suffer from Anorexia.

 

As some of you may remember, a while ago i posted a topic about my family thinking that i suffered from an eating disorder which i thought was utter rubbish but looking back now, i can kinda see that i did have eating and dietary issues. But, for me (even though i didnt suffer the full consequences of Anorexia since luckily i sorted my head before it was too late), it wasnt a media problem. Its was more mental. Even though i was relatively slim, i had people saying i had man-boobs, they were still pinching the baby fat and it made me feel really self-concious. I know (or at least i dont think they did) these people didnt mean to make me feel bad about myself but mentally, i wasnt happy with the way that i felt about myself. And because of that i pratically starved myself, living off one meal a day. and even that meal i couldnt complete. It came up to the point where in more-or-less than a month i lost over 2lbs. When i opened my eyes and saw that i had a problem, i weighed about 6.5lbs. It came to the point where i could put my fingers through my ribs and a little tiny push would send me flying. Im now slowly recovering, my entire body has lost so much fat that i hardly look like myself 3/4 months ago. But ive now got my weight up to a healthy 9lbs. I have however, suffered of a few of the effects of anorexia. Apart from all the physcological and emotional effects that i had or gained, i have now become stunted in growth. Hopefully its not a long-term thing and that i will grow a bit more in the next couple of years.

 

But thats my view. I wasnt affected by the media. It was the way that i was feeling about myself, and emotionally i wasnt in the right place.

 

So, Anorexia. Who or what is the main cause?

Edited February 11, 200817 yr by Joao Filipe

I think it's a mental thing - I can understand how it would come about. Even though you are becoming abnormally thin you still think you're fat.

 

By the way, lbs is short for pounds not stones. When you said you lost 2lbs in a month I thought 'eh?' but it made sense afterwards :)

It's like a mental disease which is "passed around" by people's snide remarks/harsh comments.

 

That's what I think it is anyway. :P

The exact cause of Anorexia Nervosa is not known, it's likely a combination of biological, psychological, sociocultural factors.

I don't believe that the media is to blame, I'm sure they play some sort of role in some cases, but eating disorders are a lot more complex than that.

 

"Passed around"?? It is not a bottle, what do you mean with that?

MEDIA DUH.

 

Personally, (I'm not anorexic but still) I have major issues with my weight, yet this time last year I was alright. I'm size 12 so it's not like I'm a whale, but the constant "So and so has gone from size 12 to size 8" and it makes me feel well pressurised into doing something about it, makes me feel a right fat pasty :`(.

 

And people that go from size 12 -> 8 have weird big heads which aren't in proportion to their body anyways.

It's a mental disorder caused by the media... of course, it can be caused by other things, but more often that not it's the media saying "this is what good-looking, successful people look like" and whether we realise it or not we pander to it. I myself went down to about 7 stone a while back (which is not very low but apparently it showed), and I still worry myself about eating to the point that I'd just rather not do it, especially since uni (not that it's anything as serious as anorexia). But like I said, not all people who suffer from anorexia or bulimia are influenced by the media... it's just the Western ideal as a whole I think, the media is just part of it.

....... its pretty normal for hormone fueled young people to be 'faddy' with foods. add this to the preasures that the media depict on 'how to look'... (the gallery here is fill of airbrushed/photoshopped images, with members fawning over them!!!)

 

THEY AINT REAL!

 

this whole modern image thing is a real bug bare to me...

 

the media are selling this image, 'radioactively' white teeth, luminously glowing skin, hair that shines so much it dazzles, fake tan.... :puke2: FAKE TAN LOOKS HIDEOUS!!!!!

 

they have got it WRONG! theres nothing wrong with 99% of people, they dont need to lose weight (just eat sensibly), they dont need to look orange!... especially with bleached teeth!

I would say that Anorexia is a mental problem that can have physical consequences, so it's a bit of both in answer to the question...

 

The meeedjaaa hardly helps with all its "body fascism" bullsh!t though.... It cant be a coincidence that there was really no such thing as Anorexia (it was virtually unheard of 50/60 odd years ago...) before the mass media began to push its ideas of the "perfect" body, the "perfect" shape, the "necessity" to be slim or skinny....

 

I'm totally with Rob as well - fake tan, glow in the dark white teeth..... EUUUURRGHHHHHHHH :puke2:

It's caused by the media, I am now skinnier then most of the guys in my school, yet I still feel fat when I am the exact weight I need to be for my build.

MEDIA DUH.

 

Personally, (I'm not anorexic but still) I have major issues with my weight, yet this time last year I was alright. I'm size 12 so it's not like I'm a whale, but the constant "So and so has gone from size 12 to size 8" and it makes me feel well pressurised into doing something about it, makes me feel a right fat pasty :`(.

 

And people that go from size 12 -> 8 have weird big heads which aren't in proportion to their body anyways.

 

Stay as you are Sarah, the national average for women is 14 anyways so in the grand scheme of things you are below the national average, ignore your "friends" and don't feel pressured, just be yourself and stuff what they think, if they want to starve themselves into an eating disorder thats up to them but just be yourself and sod what they think, 12 ain't fat whatsoever

 

Don't feel pressured

I think its a mental problem....When we became "more" conscious about our body I think everybody could suffer this. Actually I'm having a hard time to loose pounds.....After my surgery (September 2007) I gained more pounds. Before my waist line is 26 and now 29 :( .....

the amount of time people implied i had a problem with this at uni in the first term got to me. It was gah stop asking me if i am eating, I am now back up. I even found my self being followed to my room after we had all eaten dinner in the kitchen together to see if i was making my self be sick in the toilet in my bedroom. It wasn't fun.