Food is something everyone thinks about on a daily basis. "What am I going to have for dinner?" "That ice cream really looks good!" But what happens when these thoughts become more obsessive and affect daily life? This may be the sign of an eating disorder. Eating disorders currently affect between five and ten million people in the United States. Of these people, three to six million suffer from anorexia nervosa (Kittleson 15). Anorexia is a dangerous disease that is becoming increasingly popular in children and adolescents. In fact, eight six percent of eating disorders occur by the age of twenty, with ten percent beginning in children under the age of ten (Strada 10). By examining the affects and causes of anorexia, parents can learn to be aware of the disease and even prevent it form occurring in the first place.
Anorexia nervosa is defined as "self-imposed starvation that occurs when someone avoids food to the point that he or she is fifteen percent or more below......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 1514
Approximate Pages: 6 (260 words per double-spaced page) |