Assignmnent 16- Abby Hardin

I really like pizza. I also like pasta, chicken, and oh my gosh- let’s not even get into ice cream. As a kid, I never really thought about the effects of these foods. Obviously, I understood that you can’t eat them every day for every meal, but I didn’t think that one slice of pizza was the end of the world. But now, as I scroll through Instagram and see countless pictures of models the size of the pasta I’m eating, I become self-conscious. For many people, the moment of low self-esteem turns into an obsession, a daily routine, an eating disorder. There are three main types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa, the most severe of the three, can be diagnosed when there is extreme weight loss due to lack of eating.  Bulimia nervosa is diagnosed when, after binge eating, self-induced vomiting causes weight loss. Binge-eating disorder is diagnosed when there are periods of mass food consumption followed by a period of lack of eating. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there are approximately 30 million reported cases of eating disorders in the United States. This is only what has been reported; the NIMH estimates around 70 million cases.

So, why is this a problem? As I said, there are at least 30 million cases of eating disorders throughout the United States, affecting both males and females. It also impacts a range of ages, commonly starting around twelve years old going through adulthood. On a physical level, they can damage the cardiovascular system (extreme drops in blood pressure), drop blood sugar levels, obstruct the intestinal tract, cause a hormonal imbalance, decrease white blood cell count, and even organ failure. On a psychological level, it can cause an increase in depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, substance abuse disorder, and trauma. Overall, the National Eating Disorder Association shows that about 2% of American adolescents will die because of an eating disorder. Something needs to be done about this, but we cannot find the solution until we address the impact of social media and what it promotes.

          A 2013 study by Christopher J. Ferguson analyzes the correlation between eating disorders and social media. The United States is one of the most media-centered countries, and we have one of the highest rates of eating disorders. Anyone can post anything on social media. Most of the time, influencers are posting highly photoshopped pictures of their bodies. While this may boost the model’s confidence, the inaccurate depiction of a “healthy” body can negatively influence anyone that sees that picture. The desire to look like their favorite celebrity or be seen as attractive based on unrealistic standards creates a cycle of negativity and, possibly, eating disorders.

          What do you see when you look at this picture of the woman? What do you notice first? This is a picture of Stacey Lee, a fitness blogger on Instagram. She photoshopped this picture of herself as a social experiment. It gained over 15,000 likes and thousands of comments. Lee aimed to raise awareness about the emergence of photoshop, and how unhealthy it can become for the followers who believe that the unrealistic images are attainable. As she emphasized in her post, “images are designed to suit a virtual reality. Not the real world.”

          This unhealthy cycle continues when celebrities endorse diets, cleanses, and weight loss products. Most of the time, these ways of becoming “healthy” only hurt your body. They aren’t a sustainable way to lose weight. The only way to do that is exercise and balanced dieting. Drinking a mysterious green juice every 8 hours won’t do anything but develop unhealthy eating habits.

          Fit Tea is one of the most widely known companies for juice cleanses. They sell a tea powder that claims to have the ability to make anyone “fit.” All you have to do is drink the tea! It sounds great, but it comes with a caveat- the best results occur when you only drink that. Explained by Laura Hill, a specialist in nutrition and development, this promotes unhealthy eating habits and the development of anorexia. Fit Tea is an unsafe product not meant for adolescents, but when it’s endorsed by celebrities like the Kardashians, the appeal skyrockets. Many people want a body like Kylie Jenner, but starving yourself to look like a photoshopped image will only lead you down the wrong path.`

          Teenagers and adults all across the United States are stuck in a life-threatening disorder, and the fake perceptions aren’t helping. We need to stop applauding the creation of the distorted body images that comes along with social media and start promoting healthy, natural bodies. Companies such as Aerie have begun to do this. They include people of all body weights in their underwear ads, without photoshopping. This promotes body positivity and acceptance of natural phenomena, such as curves and stretch marks. As more and more companies follow this lead, the media will hopefully begin to accept and promote natural body types. Even though it isn’t the sole cause, putting an end to photoshopped media campaigns and unhealthy diets is a first step.

          So go eat some pizza. And be proud of yourself for eating it.

         

Bibliography

Diller, Vivian. “Is Photoshop Destroying America's Body Image?” HuffPost, HuffPost, 8 July 2011, www.huffpost.com/entry/photoshop-body-image_b_891095.

“Eating Disorders.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders/index.shtml.

Ferguson, Christopher J. “Concurrent and Prospective Analyses of Peer, Television and Social Media Influences on Body Dissatisfaction, Eating Disorder Symptoms and Life Satisfaction in Adolescent Girls.” Body Image Prospective, Journal of Youth Adolescents, 18 Dec. 2012, christopherjferguson.com/BodyImageProspective.pdf.

“Health Consequences.” National Eating Disorders Association, 22 Feb. 2018, www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/health-consequences.

Talks, TEDx. “Eating Disorders from the Inside Out: Laura Hill at TEDxColumbus.” YouTube, YouTube, 31 Oct. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEysOExcwrE&vl=en.