Research Paper on Anorexia in Adolescents

Paper Type:  Research paper
Pages:  6
Wordcount:  1506 Words
Date:  2022-09-19

Introduction

Adolescents are affected by social and psychological problems in the development process. These problems are portrayed mainly through a change in habits and behavior. However, some of the changes may take longer to be detected due to the mobility of adolescents and limited direct control from the parents. Severe and frequent misbehavior in adolescents is mainly related to psychosocial disorders such as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders (Micali et al., 2015). Eating disorders are prevalent in adolescents leading to a rise in obesity and other health related disorders such as anorexia, diabetes and some chronic disorders like cancer. Eating disorders are commonly aligned with the impact of society and social media. Diabetes, obesity, and anorexia are among the common nutritional disorders experienced across the globe Anorexia is an eating disorder that is highly linked to mental effects. This condition has gained much attention as a common psychosocial effect in adolescents and therefore a health concern to the population. Anorexia is characterized by excessive body weight loss due to self-starvation leading to a person's body weight falling below the ideal body weight. The attitude of conveyed by the entire society with regards to high body weight disregards high BMI in people. The condition is common in girls and can be life threatening if not handled effectively.

Trust banner

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Factors Promoting Anorexia

Anorexia is a nutritional disorder which is brought about by starvation and results in body weight loss. According to Mehler & Andersen (2017), extreme loss in body weight can increase health complications and most dangerously lead to death. The main reason behind self-starvation is the fear of body weight gain and therefore to attain self-correction, they tend to starve themselves to reduce the self-doubt and fear of weight gain.

According to Freud's psychosexual conceptualization of development, sociocultural context contributes to the individual development of a person (Smith, 2008). In that light, adolescents are affected by the common fashion design industry icons, music, actors and sports personalities. These familiar icons are emulated by adolescents with their body size serving as the ideal body sizes and therefore lead to the different perception of body weights. However, the main concern is the body BMI of the fashion design industry models. Majority of the models have BMIs which can be categorized to anorexic. Adolescents lose body weights to gain the ideal body which on the other hand improve their confidence. Severe loss of body weights is, however, the key cause of anorexia. The obsession with thinner bodies leads to a psychological impact on the adolescents that lead to aggression in losing body weight, training and low quantity of food consumption (Mizrahi & Davis, 2008). In reference to Erikson's identity formation in adolescents, identity has its own normative crisis in adolescents and is characterized by turmoil and stress (Smith, 2008). Identity is developed from the interaction with the environment and the integration of individual psychological and social environment. This may entail situations such as separation from family and the resultant effect to the individual. Detrimental reaction to separation may lead to separation anxiety, depression and deterioration in eating habits. In that light, anorexia can be experienced in such adolescents.

Health Effects of Anorexia

Low food uptake deprives the body of essential nutrients needed. As the body strives to acquire some of the basic nutrients, the defense mechanism is affected along with the strength and the general body health stability. According to McGuire et. (1998), anorexia is a psychological disorder that cuts across all people regardless of age. However, the critical factor behind poor nutrition is the severe physical effects on the body. Increase in self-doubt is mainly termed as a psychological disorder which impacts in deprivation of food with the fear of gaining weight and losing appeal to the public. Drug addiction, self-harm, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem form part of the psychological effects brought about by anorexia (Fernandez & Pritchard, 2012). Anorexic people are mainly good performers, high achievers and tend to be perfectionists and show obsessive depressive and anxious symptoms. Depression, anxiety and low self-esteem are more severe to adolescents since it hampers the normal development process of the adolescents along with difficulties in transition into adulthood.

Causes of Anorexia

Anorexia is linked to the psychological part of an individual. Different life situations contribute to the onset of anorexia in adolescents. These include a combination of emotions, personality traits, thinking patterns along with environmental and biological factors are the most probable contributors. Adolescents tend to restrict food consumption, and eating routines gain a sense of control under overwhelming and hard times in the lives. Additionally, anxiety, anger, the feeling of inadequacy and loneliness are developmental factors to the disorder (McGuire et al., 1998). A history of teasing on the body size and troubled relationships, peer pressure, family and society equating thinness to beauty also plays a role in the development of anorexia.

On the other hand, hormonal changes in the body can foster eating disorders. People with anorexia embrace binge eating and purging. Change in the hormonal balance in the body may impact in a change in mood, appetite, thinking as well as triggering the memory and hence set in anorexia. The family history of anorexia is also a factor of consideration illuminating the condition as hereditary. Most people with a family history of the condition are susceptible to the disorder.

Symptoms of Anorexia

Anorexia has a wide range of symptoms varying from physical and psychological. The most common symptoms include rapid loss of body weight coupled with low intake of nutrients. Continued dieting, unusual interest in food, the feeling of being fat even when underweight, fear of weight gain may be dominant in anorexic people (Mehler & Andersen, 2017). Feeling of being overweight leads to an increase in dieting with the fear of gaining more weight being the driving force. Weird eating habits such as eating in seclusion may creep in due to fear of judgment from people. Another detrimental symptom is the inability to assess own body weight. Missing of menstruation in women is common. Generally, due to deprived sufficient nutrients, frequent illness is experienced. The psychological symptoms include loss of self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Due to low self-confidence and self-esteem, these people tend to wear loose clothing and engage in compulsive exercising. The physical symptoms include constipation, tooth decay, the growth of thin hair, yellowing of the skin and brittle nails and hair (Mehler & Andersen, 2017). However, lack of treatment of the disorder may lead to osteoporosis, loss of hair, low blood pressure, damage to essential body organs such as the heart, kidney, and brain and lead to death from starvation or suicide. Treatment of anorexia requires an investigation into the psychological factors that contribute to the condition. This can enhance the diagnosis of the condition and therefore improve the outcome of the treatment intervention administered.

Conclusion

The adolescent is a critical stage in the development process of an individual. It provides a transition from childhood to adulthood. This is coupled with changes in the hormonal composition, cognitive, social and physical appearances. The changes may be detrimental to the adolescent and can lead to a psychosocial impact on the development process. Depression and anxiety are prevalent in adolescents along with less considered effect which is the onset of eating disorders. Eating habits may change due to the hormonal changes, psychological effects of social situations and peer influence. The psychological effect of adolescent interaction may also contribute to the self-esteem of individuals. Cases of low self esteem may call for tough decisions to change the perception. Anorexia stands out to be among the detrimental results of the decisions arrived at by adolescents when a question of body BMI arises in peer groups. Anorexia is therefore regarded as a psychological disorder rather than an eating disorder. The key reasons for starvation are mainly psychological to improve interaction and perception. Due to much concern in the body weight fear of rejection and negative perception, adolescents tend to embark on habits such as starvation, over exercising, purging and binge eating. The society's perception of body weight plays a role in the adolescent's eating habits. Negative attitude in the society can also increase the turmoil and stress in adolescents in watching body weights. Severe emphasis on body BMI results in anorexic dangers. In this light, the disorder is linked to the integration of the psychological perspective with the social environment during the adolescent development process.

References

Fernandez, S., & Pritchard, M. (2012). Relationships between self-esteem, media influence and drive for thinness. Eating behaviors, 13(4), 321-325.

McGuire, M. T., Troisi, A., & Troisi, A. (1998). Darwinian psychiatry. Oxford University Press, USA.

Mehler, P. S., & Andersen, A. E. (2017). Eating disorders: A guide to medical care and complications. JHU Press.

Micali, N., De Stavola, B., Ploubidis, G., Simonoff, E., Treasure, J., & Field, A. E. (2015). Adolescent eating disorder behaviours and cognitions: gender-specific effects of child, maternal and family risk factors. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 207(4), 320-327.

Mizrahi, T., & Davis, L. E. (2008). Encyclopedia of social work. Oxford University Press, USA.

Smith, B. G. (2008). The Oxford encyclopedia of women in world history (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press, USA.

Cite this page

Research Paper on Anorexia in Adolescents. (2022, Sep 19). Retrieved from https://midtermguru.com/essays/research-paper-on-anorexia-in-adolescents

logo_disclaimer
Free essays can be submitted by anyone,

so we do not vouch for their quality

Want a quality guarantee?
Order from one of our vetted writers instead

If you are the original author of this essay and no longer wish to have it published on the midtermguru.com website, please click below to request its removal:

didn't find image

Liked this essay sample but need an original one?

Hire a professional with VAST experience!

24/7 online support

NO plagiarism