Understanding Eating Disorders through a Biomedical Model...

Can We Better Understand Eating Disorders, Namely Anorexia Nervosa, Through A Biomedical Model Or By Socio-cultural Analysis? ‘It’s like I never knew what self-respect was all about until now. The thinner I get, the better I feel†¦this has become the most important thing I’ve ever done. ‘ (Ciseaux, 1980, p.1468) Incidences of Anorexia Nervosa have appeared to increase sharply in the USA, UK and western European countries since the beginning of the 60s (Gordon, 2001). The increasing prevalence of the disease has led the World Health Organisation to declare eating disorders a global priority area within adolescent mental health (Becker et al. 2011). Anorexia has in many ways become a modern epidemic (Gordon, 2000) and with a mortality rate of 10% per decade (Gorwood et al. 2003), the highest of any mental disorder (Bulik et al. 2006), it is an epidemic that social and biological scientists have been working tirelessly to understand. There are several bio-medical definitions of anorexia; The NHS refers to an anorexic as someone who tries to keep their weight as low as possible, by restricting diet, often over exercising and in some cases through the use of laxatives and diuretics (NHS, 2014). The DSM-V definition similarly suggests that anorexia is characterised by a refusal to maintain body weight at or above the minimally normal weight for age and height (DSM-V, 2014). Both definitions highlight an intense fear of gaining weight and a hugely distorted perceptionShow MoreRelatedMass Media Has A Strong Effect On Adolescent Female Adolescents4176 Words   |  17 Pagesmass media is something we are all a part of in our daily lives. When we wake up in the morning until we go to bed at night, we are a part of mass media. From the minute, we sit down at the computer, or if we decide to turn on the television or flip through a magazine. Mass media is in the magazines we read and there are advertisements everywhere w e look. This is who we are in this culture today but within this mass amount of information streaming around us, there also seems to be the common theme ofRead MoreDrug Addiction5980 Words   |  24 PagesNOT seen as a disease or as the result of genetic or biological predisposition. These people have a strong personal and social interest in an entirely nonphysiological model of addictive human behavior. Their perspective of social problems is based primarily on a philosophical orientation with a social perspective, heralding socio-political correctness as its goal. Throughout history, a great many people and institutions have tried to help alcoholics and addicts. Currently, there are thousands