Combating Eating Disorders in Adolescents

The topic of eating disorders is one that is discussed increasingly more each day in society. As the media continues to portray rail-thin bodies, this psychological disorder seems to be growing as adolescents yearn to fit in with this social ideal of slimness as the accepted body form.

The overall perception is that the media as well as the culture surrounding us places negative ideas in children's heads, causing them to feel bad about themselves and start a fight within to reach an impossible look. Placing particular emphasis on the causes and effects of eating disorders, as well as studies done to treat and prevent them, these sources offer a view of this psychological battle which thousands of people struggle with daily. In looking at several disciplinary areas it is easy to see that they each approach the concept of eating disorders differently.

Popular articles tend to teach readers about the topic, while relating it to the media and social contributions. In viewing the topic from the sciences perspective, researchers are looking for medical treatments of the disorders and investigating what effects these treatments may have. The social sciences take a different look at this topic, as it focuses on surveys and analyzing. In this discipline, studies are done to help researchers better understand the problem at hand. Finally, the humanities revolve around the social aspect of eating disorders, studying the influences which the media and culture have. I believe that while each of the disciplines provides readers with a different viewpoint of the topic, they all are related in the general concept that eating disorders are dangerous and need to be stopped. The popular articles seem to tie everything up, giving off general information on this psychological battle as well as teaching people how to help combat it.

The main objective of each of the two popular sources is to entertain the general public while teaching about eating disorders. In the first source, entitled "Eating Disorders" from the Kids Health website, the basic goal is to keep parents updated with information that will help them keep their children healthy. In doing this, the article focuses on explaining the topic of eating disorders, going into detail on the many causes and effects, warning signs, treatments and prevention measures.

The second popular article takes a different approach, showing readers what role the media plays in affecting teens and increasing this psychological battle. "The Effects of Media on the Skinny Side of Eating Disorders" by Melina Cemanovic, shows how the media can control the minds of people, causing them to think that they should transform themselves to look like the celebrities on television (1). These popular sources give readers insight to the problem of eating disorders, pushing them to learn more and take a stand in order to help prevent them. They relate to the different disciplines in tying everything together, and focusing on the general issue itself, not just the prevention measures, or one simple survey. Instead, popular articles entice readers to get involved, while the other disciplines narrow the topic, bringing individual parts out for examination.

When taking a look from the sciences perspective, an eating disorder becomes something which needs a medical cure. This discipline is focused on finding treatments for people who struggle with these disorders, while analyzing what methods work best. In the article entitled "Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Pharmacological Therapies," researchers L.A. Kotler and B.T. Walsh were exploring the different eating disorders and identifying pharmacological treatments for them. This article summarizes literature written on medication roles in treating eating disorders, and emphasizes studies which have been conducted on adolescents. This study is based on research and concludes in stating that there is much work to be done in figuring out what role psychopharmacological agents will play in treating eating disorders in children (Kotler and Walsh 114).

The basic principle of the sciences when dealing with eating disorders is to complete surveys and research in order to find a common treatment or proper prevention methods. Researchers in this field consist of psychiatrists and Professors of psychopharmacology, such as the authors of this article, as well as several others who spend their time identifying measures which will help stop the growing problem of eating disorders. The sciences discipline is related to the others because it does study eating disorders, but articles in this field relate especially to other popular articles because they recognize the hazardous effects of eating disorders and investigate the different effects and treatment.

The social sciences takes yet another course in dealing with this topic. In this discipline, the focus is on behavior, attitudes, and feelings of those with eating disorders. Articles in this field look somewhat like the scientific method, beginning with an objective and then producing results which lead to discussion. In the article, "Silencing the Self and Suppressed Anger: Relationship to Eating Disorder Symptoms in Adolescent Females," by Shannon L. Zaitsoff, Josie Geller, and Suja Srikameswaran, the purpose is to acknowledge the relationship between attitudes and behavior to eating disorders in adolescent females. In this study researchers measure psychological factors involved with eating disorders by completing the Anger Expression Scale as well as the Silencing the Self Scale (Zaitsoff, Geller, and Srikameswaran 51).

After completing the study, it was easy to conclude that eating disorders are related to negative feelings and lack of tending to ones own emotional needs (Zaitsoff, Geller, and Srikameswaran 51). Researchers in the social sciences field want to know more about the people with these disorders, so that they can better understand and examine their behavioral patterns. It is important to learn about the subject matter, so that information can be processed and interpreted. After dealing with the subjects and understanding them, the social sciences information can be transferred to the sciences, helping researchers in that field to find treatments based on the overall perception given.

The humanities discipline deals with the ethical, moral, and social aspects surrounding eating disorders. Through this, the media and culture come into play, as researchers once again analyze the influences on this psychological battle. ""It's an Acceptable Identity": Constructing "Girl" at the Intersections of Health, Media, and Meaning-Making" is a humanities article written by J. Nicole Little, and Marie L. Hoskins. These authors are both affiliated with the School of Child and Youth Care, and the Faculty of Human and Social Development at the University of Victoria. Their article deals with the search to figure out the recovery process for girls with eating disorders. The author's place much emphasis on the idea that there are no real answers to the many obstacles facing girls who are surrounded by the North American culture, but "researchers and practitioners can co-create space with girls where gendered issues are made explicit" (Little and Hoskins 75). Those who are interested in the humanities field are looking for solutions, revolving their thoughts around the effects of the media, culture, and society. When they reach the point where answers are found, studies in the other disciplines can be completed to produce more reliable results.

The problem of eating disorders is one that has grown tremendously in recent years. This psychological battle has been discussed throughout the world as one that needs to be addressed and stopped before it becomes even more deadly. It is a problem that affects over 10 million teens, and evolves when they form "self-critical, negative thoughts and feelings about body weight and food, eating habits that disrupt normal body function, and daily life activities" (KidsHealth 1). After analyzing the issue from the viewpoint of several disciplines, I have come to the realization that eating disorders are extremely dangerous especially for children today, and the numbers will only increase if people don't figure out how to stop them. Each of the disciplines has a unique way of perfecting the examination as a whole, and contributes with specific data.

The sciences present treatment methods which come from strict research and experimentation. Much of the data that researchers in the sciences field have to work with comes from surveys and studies completed in the social sciences. This particular field focuses on behavior and interprets the overall attitudes and feelings of patients with eating disorders. Finally, the humanities discipline studies the effects which culture and media have on this topic. The social surroundings are a main cause of eating disorders to begin with. The popular sources have a way of uniting all of this information, and tying up the different disciplines. While looking at the topic of eating disorders as a whole, and showing it off from every perspective, popular articles tend to convey information from the sciences, social science, and humanities. While portraying different treatment and prevention measures, these articles also focus on behaviors of people dealing with eating disorders and they tell how the media and society cause these feelings and attitudes.

There is still much further research which needs to be done to help us understand the issue of eating disorders and find a way to slow down the problem. For the sciences, there is much work to be done in figuring out what role psychopharmacological agents will play in treating eating disorders in children. As for the social sciences, there are several more surveys to be taken and further work will help clarify the bond between the relationship of people with eating disorders to different attitudes and feelings. Researchers in the humanities field need to keep analyzing the social issues involved with this topic, so that they may have a better answer to the problem. In the long run, after careful examination from each discipline, hopefully the research will pay off as the number of adolescents with eating disorders sees a significant decrease.

Cemanovic, Melina. The Effects of Media on the Skinny Side of Eating Disorders. 18

Dec. 2006. 18 Nov. 2007

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Effects-of-Media-on-the-Skinny-Side-of-Eating-Disorders&id=390528.

KidsHealth for parents. Eating Disorders. June 2005. 18 Nov. 2007 http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/eating_disorders.html.

Kotler, L. A., and B. T. Walsh. "Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Pharmacological Therapies." European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 9 (2000): 108-116.

Little, J. N., and Marie L. Hoskins. "'It's an Acceptable Identity': Constructing 'Girl' at the Intersections of Health, Media, and Meaning-Making." Child & Youth Services 26.2 (2004): 75-93.

Zaitsoff, Shannon L., Josie Geller, and Suja Srikameswaran. "Silencing the Self and Suppressed Anger: Relationship to Eating Disorder Symptoms in Adolescent Females." European Eating Disorders Review 10.1 (2002): 51-60.