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Cassandra Black
Deb Steele
English 1101
November 4, 2015
Anorexia; a Growing Problem
Anorexia is a problem all over the world, but I want to focus on the United States.
Anorexia is an eating disorder that mostly females have. Males have it too but it is more
predominant in females. According to dictionary.com, the definition of anorexia or anorexia
nervosa is a lack of, or loss of for food (as a medical condition), or an emotion disorder
characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. When looking around,
anorexic people may go unnoticed. Not every case is severe. People with anorexia often do not
like the way they look because they see super thin models wearing the clothes they want to wear.
They feel they need to starve themselves to look and feel satisfied with themselves. Men and
women today struggle with the way they look. They want to look like perfection. When people
hear the word perfection they think of someone or something without a single flaw. Absolutely
nothing is wrong with them but in reality, something has happened to them or is wrong with
them that makes them have a flaw or two. Anorexia is a growing problem that extends into all
ages and genders and no one is doing anything about it.
There is no exact reason for a person to become anorexic except for that they do not like
the way they look. But why do people go straight to losing weight by not eating? Gura believes
that their brains are wired to. Anorexia has its own traits that are similar to other mental
disorders such as; perfectionism, anxiety, and extreme rulemaking. Scientists are starting to
believe that anorexia is branching from neurobiology. They are tracing it back to the serotonin

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system (which controls mood); dopamine centers (related to food repulsion, hyperactivity, and
obsessive compulsive behaviors); and opioid receptors (involved in reward and feeding control)
(Gura). Other scientists believe its the environment the person is in. Two twin sisters had the
same genetic make-up but lived completely different lives. Only one of them was diagnosed with
anorexia. That pretty much rules out that it may come entirely from genetic make-up but maybe
it was just a one in a million happening.
Growing up, I have always had issues with my weight. I never thought I was pretty
enough or skinny enough. My friends are and always have been size zero which was always hard
to hear and see since I was a size ten. I danced three days a week and still could not lose weight.
I ate healthy, took weight loss pills and even used wraps that help people lose inches. Last year, I
started high school. Everything was great until homecoming when everyone was wearing a two
piece dress. I felt like an elephant compared to every girl in my group. They all tried to convince
me that I was skinny and did not need to lose weight, but I thought I did. I did not feel perfect
like I thought all of my friends were. I did not eat the rest of that week except for when my mom
was around. I didnt want her to notice, but she did because she is my mom and knows how I am.
I know I am not the only one that has done this because my best friend did it too.
There is no specific age or gender that struggles with anorexia. However, anorexia is
more prevalent in women. Women envy each other, whether they are a size double zero or a size
twenty. Teens are very into following celebrities who are a smaller size and show it off with
crop-tops. Teens idolize them and want to look and be just like them no matter what it takes.
Even girls at very young ages already do not like their body. Bennett states 42 percent of first to
third grade girls want to be skinnier while 81 percent of ten year olds are afraid of getting fat.
Which means that even girls before their teen years do not want to be anywhere close to

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overweight. When a girl that is 7-9 years old says she wants to be skinnier, it is heart breaking.
When kids are that young, they should be worrying about who they are going to play with at
recess not about their weight. Becoming anorexic at such a young age makes it extremely hard
for it to be broken when they are older. Females already do not find themselves attractive. Why
do females need to worry about their weight too? According to a study done by Dove, out of all
of the females in the world only two percent consider themselves as pretty (Bennett). Society
needs to promote inner beauty instead of outer beauty. People in society are practically killing
people.
Anorexia may be more prevalent in women but males struggle with it also. Males are can
hide being anorexic easier than females can. Males today wear baggy clothes all of the time. No
one thinks twice when they see a skinny guy wearing baggy clothing. Many males do not want to
admit to being anorexic (Healthline). They feel as if they are weak and not manly enough.
Skolnick believes that about twenty- five percent of males have anorexia but only ten percent
have been diagnosed. Ten percent is still a big number when it comes to people with an eating
disorder. Anorexia in males mostly occurs when they are teens and young adults. Young males
work out to lose weight and gain muscle. But, they only gain muscle if they eat the right things.
If they only drink protein shakes they are causing their body to become malnourished. The body
has certain foods it needs and it will really affect your body when you have not had enough of it.
Many people have died from anorexia. What have people done to help the number of
deaths go down? Nothing, some insurance companies are even denying treatment to people with
anorexia (Westin). Westins daughter, Anna, died at the age of twenty one from anorexia since
her insurance would not pay for her treatment. Insurance companies are taking away peoples
lives because they will not pay for the treatment of anorexia. Anorexia is a mental condition so,

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insurance should pay for treatments but they do not. Denying a person the care for anorexia
would be the same as denying a person with autism, heartless. Many people today can barely
afford to put food on the table let alone pay for medical bills without help from their insurance
companies. Westin is not saying the insurance company killed Anna but she is holding them
partially responsible. People with anorexia are being discriminated for being anorexic. People
cannot help it though. Once a person becomes anorexic it is extremely had to recover from.
When a person eats little to nothing at all, their stomachs start to shrink. When they start to eat
again they cannot eat very much at all. It takes a while to slowly stretch their stomach back out to
the normal size. It may never go back to the size it is supposed to be.
All in all anorexia may always be an issue. Not every person will like the way their body
looks. It does not help that people today want a girlfriend or boyfriend that is skinny and hot.
People today are having to try too hard to get a partner. They start to believe that they are never
going to find a person that loves them for who they are. The most we can do is provide help and
awareness to people around the world about anorexia.

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Works Cited
Bennett, Jessica. "The Fashion Industry Promotes Eating Disorders." Eating Disorders. Ed.
Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Why
Skinny Models Are Making Us Fat." Newsweek (8 Feb. 2007). Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
Gura, Trisha. "Genes Cannot Explain Anorexia." Anorexia. Ed. Stefan Kiesbye. Detroit:
Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from "Anorexia: Wired Like Asperger's?"
WeighingIn-Blog.TrishaGura.com. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Nov.
2015.
Krans, Brian. Eating Disorders Not Just a Womens Disease. www.healthline.com.
Healthline, Nov. 6, 2013. Web. Nov. 16, 2015.
"Male Anorexia Negatively Affects Treatment for Endocrine Conditions." Mental Health Weekly
Digest 2 June 2014: 147. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Westin, Kathryne L. "Insurance Companies Should Not Deny Treatment to Anorexics."
Anorexia. Ed. Stefan Kiesbye. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from
"Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Ways and
Means." WaysAndMeans.house.gov. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Nov.
2015.