Gabi Kahn Blog

Eating disorders affect women all over the world. Women are so concerned with body image and the unrealistic idea of beauty that it directly affects the way women eat. The problem is, women are constantly looking in the mirror and thinking that they are not thin enough and need to do something drastic to be thin.  Unfortunately, this leads to eating disorders.  Whether it is Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa, women find some life threatening way to try to be thin.

The two main eating disorders that affect women are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.  Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder in which a person obsesses about their weight and the food that they starve themselves and exercise constantly. Usually, it is obvious if a woman is anorexic because she is underweight and looks sickly.  Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder in which a person binges and purges.  That is, eats unhealthy amounts of food and then forces themselves to vomit afterwards. Women who are bulimic are not necessarily as obvious as anorexic women because they vomit in secrecy. However, both eating disorders are life threatening.

In the eyes of the women with eating disorders, what they see in the mirror is not the same as what we see them as.  They see something large, fat, and what they would call obese.  Meanwhile we see a skinny, boney, and unhealthy looking woman.  It is discerning that they cannot see what they truly look like and continue to harm themselves to be the thin woman society pressures them to be.

 Beauty and being size 0 thin has brain washed many women today.  The unrealistic idea of beauty has led to a rise in eating disorders.  Eating disorders are the most popular among teenagers and young adults since they tend to be the most subjected to the unrealistic idea of beauty. This unrealistic idea of beauty consists of being model thin, wearing pounds of makeup and having perfect hair. To these women, starving themselves or purging is there way to reach societies idea of beauty.  Though it may be unrealistic and unfair, these women take on the extremes of dieting, starving, and purging because society has put a label on what a beautiful woman should look like.  What is scary is that these women are so desperate to fit into the idea of beauty that they hurt themselves to get there.  This clearly shows that the unrealistic idea of beauty has taken over the minds of many women and has caused them to harm themselves.