Malcolm X

Eating disorders in teenage girls is a growing health problem. The statistics are startling. In the United States, conservative estimates indicate that after puberty, 5-10 million girls and women and about1 million boys and men are struggling with eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or borderline conditions. Fifteen percent of young women have substantially disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Approximately 80% of bulimia nervosa patients are female (Statistics 2003). Bulimia nervosa may affect between 4.5 and 18 % of high school and college females (late adolescent and early adult) (Zastrow, Krist-Ashman).

Bulimia nervosa is a condition whereby the person tends to be in a cycle of binge eating and then purging (self-induced vomiting). Bulimics may also use laxatives to purge. Bulimics often binge on junk food, some may have no abnormalities in weight and therefore their condition may go undetected for many years. Others can be over or underweight.

Excessive vomiting can lead to erratic heartbeats, a variety of digestive and stomach problems, kidney damage, paralysis and even death. Below weight bulimics like anorexics can risk death through starvation.

Though this paper deals primarily with bulimia nervosa, there are considerable interrelationships between bulimia, anorexia and compulsive overeating. Anorexia nervosa may be narrowly defined as the, “excessive pursuit of thinness through starvation.” Compulsive overeating is roughly defined as an “irresistible urge to consume excessive amounts of food for no nutritional reason” (Zastrow).

All of these eating disorders have similar causes and in fact are on the same continuum of problems, people may have symptoms of all three conditions – binge eating, purging, and eating little. They may go back and forth between these conditions (Zastrow).

To understand the causes of bulimia we need to look at the underlying social, biological and psychological causes of eating disorders.

One answer as to why the prevalence of bulimia is prevalent in teenage and young women seems to be because of their psychological response to their physical changes they experience in adolescence.

Girls in this stage grow wider pelvic area and hips, they develop more fat on the hips and buttocks. Though this eventually results in the more womanly rounded shape adolescents may suffer emotional stress due to changed body types and weight gains. Thus appearance is often the trigger that sends girls on crash diets and bulimia.

Body image is related to self esteem and seems to be particularly important to young women. Eighty five percent of girls compared to 30 percent of boys are worried about weight. Thus a system of eating and purging begins to take hold to try as women try and maintain appearance or have an unrealistic idea appearance. In fact bulimia is not currently a problem in younger children.

Another reason why this affects older adolescent and young women more frequently is that this group is often held to a very unrealistic ideal of body type that men are not. The chart below demonstrates the point (Statistics: How many people have eating disorders?).

Average woman Barbie Doll Store mannequin

Height 5' 4" 6' 0" 6' 0"

Weight 145 lbs. 101 lbs Not available

Dress size 11 -14 4 6

Bust 36 - 37" 39" 34"

Waist 29 - 31" 19" 23"

Hips 40 - 42" 33" 34"

As we can see from the chart, the ideal body type in Western culture is totally different from the average female. These images bombard women everyday from the media.

Finally the statistics may be skewered when it comes to bulimia. Since bulimics can hide their condition better than people with other eating disorders it is difficult to tell how many older women have the problem, since they are less likely to be questioned than teens. Thus we see a third possible reason for the high late adolescent and early adult numbers (Statistics: How many people have eating disorders?).

There are numerous factors involved in what it is that may cause bulimia. Bulimics as opposed to anorexics, for example, can be quite sociable. In fact they are often looking for social approval and can seek to be popular through promiscuity. This underscores their need to look good by keeping the weight off by purging. Thus one of the major problems with bulimics is that they have poor self esteem.

Although, Bulimics can come from any type of home, they often come from middle