Eating disorders and body image

Since middle school, I have been confronted with issues of body image. It was usually the girls who were already skinny that I heard throwing up in the bathroom or saw starving themselves. I would see one girl consistently pick at a Nutra-Grain Bar each day at lunch, and another girl get a quadruple shot latte instead of food. Caffeine helps you lose weight.

Image from Preemptive Karma

The girl who picked at her food was 5′10 and about 110 pounds. This obsessing over food and body image starts to get in your head especially when you realize that you’re the same weight and only 5′3. The sad thing is that you don’t realize your thoughts are completely unreasonable because they seem normal considering the influence from peers and the media.

According to The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, 1 in 5 women struggle with disordered eating, and eating disorders affect about 70 million people world wide. Of those with an eating disorder, 90% are females between the ages of 12 and 25.

The media has a huge impact on disordered eating, and there have been numerous studies showing a correlation between exposure to media images of skinny women and disordered eating and exercising.

When America’s Next Top Model became a hit show, my roommates and I became obsessed with watching it. It’s one of those reality shows that hooks you in because its so mindlessly entertaining. But I started realizing how every time I watched, I felt like I wasn’t as pretty, not tall enough, and that I needed to lose weight by eating less and exercising more. Although Tyra Banks tries to educate her audience about eating disorders and healthy behavior in the modeling industry, her show has a huge impact on the development of these behaviors.

For example, Tyra told the shortest contestant (I believe she was 5′7) that she could “NEVER wear flip flops.” Imagine what that message can do to someone who’s 5′3. It’s like saying, “You’re not good enough, and must always attempt to make yourself taller.” The most important thing to note, is that the average height for women in the United States is 5′3.8″.

Image from Marshu

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team is another show that focuses on body image. These girls are all tall and beautiful. The worst thing was when the coach cut one of the girls because she was “bottom heavy.” As my roommates and I watched, our mouths dropped. This girl was not bottom heavy. She was tiny just like the rest of them, but just not AS tiny.

The biggest issue I’m witnessing in my generation is the rise of “disordered eating.” This simply means you don’t meet the criteria for an eating disorder but you have disordered behaviors such as obsessively counting calories, weighing yourself, skipping meals, etc. A SELF poll from April indicated that “65% of American women are disordered eaters.” I have noticed this behavior in many of my friends and even myself. I don’t want to be a person though, that becomes a prisoner to this type of thinking.

As women, it’s sad to see how we can so easily be broken by society. We become trapped in a mindset we can’t escape, and lose valuable time that we could be enjoying life. Enjoying meals even, and not experiencing excessive anxiety and guilt surrounding them. This type of thinking ruins self-confidence, and if taken too far, can ultimately take lives. I hope that by becoming more aware, we can overcome this cultural idea of “thinness = beautiful.”