Not hungry... or...

I feel that all three of these are contributors. I don't know anyone personally that has had issues with eating disorders but I have seen it in movies and TV shows. People look up to the people in the media and think what they are doing is the "cool" thing. So being really skinny and fit is what we think the "cool" thing is to do. Peer and the environment we grew up I think is a more important factor then media. Peers can be mean and put people down for not being the prettiest or the skinniest, its cruel! everyone is different in body type and personality. It is just how the world is, if everyone was the same nothing would interesting. People should not feel bad about how they look because that is what makes them unique.

I believe that each of the three components you listed play a part in body image. I have done two research papers on the effects that the media has on teen body image and I think it's the biggest influence of the three. We are bombarded everyday with 100s of ads and pictures that tell us how imperfect we are. It's tough to stand up for yourself and tell yourself that you're beautiful everyday after sitting down and watching an hour of reality TV with commercials advertising cellulite reduction cream, dark circle remover, diet pills, and face paint (make-up). I have had two friends that have dealt with eating disorders and I don't blame them for a second. I blame the media almost entirely. Ad after ad displaying perfectly airbrushed models who look like they weigh under 100 pounds is not realistic. I also think that friends and family play a role too. If you surround yourself with people who are constantly bashing others for their appearance and flaunting their "perfect body" it's easy to feel fat. I hope that everyone knows that they are beautiful, no matter what they weigh. No one should have to put their body, mind, and emotions through an eating disorder just to feel pretty.

I think that this is very disturbing tendency and I believe this standarts for perfect outlook is instilled by the commercials, the pop culture and the fashion tendencies. The reality that surrounds us somehow gives us a inferiority complex and we tend to compare with all the skinny models, tv stars and actresses. It actually makes us want to look the same way and give us some doubts in regards to our self-esteem and self-confidence.

Homes

I have a friend that I have grown up with and she is my best friend. In middle school we both went through out chubby stages and high school we both leaned out a bit. We both loved weight lifting and were into all sports. We are both in college now and she has made her body en extreme priority. She has always been thin but always had a lot of muscle. When I saw her over Christmas breaj this year it scared me. She has withered away to nothing. She was pretty skinny before and now she is ghostly looking. One of my other friends didn't even recognize her. She is too smart to be starving herself and she's not the kind of person that would binge and purge. I think her main problem is that she is addicted to exercise. If she can't run one day she says she gets mad at the world that she can't run around. I guess exercise is a goof thing to be addicted to but I've never really heard of it. TO anwer your questions I will relate to my own experience. My mom is a gym teacher in my school district and she has always been fit, forever. My friends like me for me and they don't care what my grades are, how I dress, or how skinny I am. I have a screw you attitude about media portraying "fitness." The main aspect in my life that makes me stressed about my weight is my parents, especially my mom. She's always been skinny and can't understand why others aren't like herself.

I have never suffered from an eating disorder or known someone with an eating disorder. I personally think that eating disorders are mental disorders. There is research that shows that eating disorders are genetic. If a parent has/had an eating disorder, there is a higher chance that their child will/would develop an eating disorder. I do think that there are other factors; however, I do think that genetics plays a huge part.

I think society plays a big role on our body type and the other two factors contribute to some extent. I am from India and back home no one really cared about make up or being super skinny. I have always been on the average with respect to weight so haven't really cared much when I gain few pounds and never wore any make up. But after coming to the US, I try hitting the gym regularly; I freak out whenever my weighing scale shows a few extra pounds; I wear makeup but I am always confused whether it is too much. Its been 6yrs now and I still don't think I've blended into the American society. Social context is indeed playing a big role in my life!

I personally struggled with an eating disorder (both anorexia nervosa and bulimia) for 7 years. It wasn't until a few years ago that I would consider myself "recovered." From a personal stand point of the experience, I feel that it's not just one or the other; I think it's a combination of both social/peer and societal/entertainment pressure. For me, it was a self hate of not being able to attract the amount of attention that I wanted, and I noticed the "thinner" people receiving that attention that I desired. Looking back, that was a stupid thing to do, because in the end, does receiving the attention from these people really matter over loving WHO you are?... the answer is no.
The worse part of it all is that not do these eating disorders mentally and emotionally take a toll, but they also take a bodily toll. Those who suffer from bulimia will often have fluid imbalance, enamel erosion of their teeth, and heart problems from forced purging. The worse part of it is that because you binge and purge, or practice restriction, you actually put your body into a type of "starvation mode" where anything you eat it stores... even if you purge. So, you never actually lose the weight after a point, and in turn, the vicious cycle continues until you're able to love yourself.
This is a devastating disease our society has been plagued with, and I hope those who suffer are able to receive the proper help (from such places as the Emily Program) like I did.

I think media plays a huge role! But another thing is peer teasing. This doesn't just happen in high school, I've seen two examples of it outside of the school scene in the past 2 weeks. First, when I was at a show at the Myth there was this group of guys who was not good looking at all making fun of a bigger girl next to us. She heard them. I wonder if she will ever have an eating disorder. Next, my best friend was walking to work and saw a girl jogging (my bff said she wasn't even fat) a truck of two guys (one was chubby) drove by and said "jogging is pointless you will never be attractive and thin" My friend being the angel she is comforted the crying girl and got her to smile. Girls need more positive role models like Tyra Banks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mOQh3evqsI Kiss my fat ass!

I agree with that the eating disorders are caused from the media. I believe that people always get to see many good-looking celebrities through TV shows and then, they start compare their body shape with the top models' or actresses'. Usually, the models or the actresses have to be extremely shaped because how they look on the TV shows directly affect their income. Even though most people are aware of the fact, they start looking up the stars in the media when they come to see them.

Media, peer influence, and social context seem to all be tied into eating disorders and are major contributors to such things. One thing that I have always tried to remind myself about people is that you never know what has happened to them earlier on in life that could have stimulated the growth of such disorders at a young age. Then throw the media, peer influence, and other stresses in life on top of that and tell children its weird to be to skinny? Something to think about I guess

I just did a group project on eating disorders in my bio class and something we found was that it is more often your surroundings (i.e. family, friends, etc) and has a great deal to do with how low or high of self esteem that you have. Something huge in eating disorders is that it is often about control. There are often times outside factors in a person's life that force them to give up the control of things such as sports or the excessive control of parents. This causes them to need to gain control over something and a lot of times, control is gained through under and over eating. That is another thing about eating disorders, it is often overlooked that over eating is actually considered an eating disorder.

I believe that everyone of these factors has an effect on the status of the eating disorder. I would have to say it depends on the age that the disorder happens. Becoming a teenager and finally getting to read those magazines and watch television shows you weren't able to before, puts pressure on you to look like the popular celebrities and use their diets and workouts. As you get older I feel like this obsession, for some people, dies out but other problems may persist. For example the pressure of your peers, whether it is intentional or not, is very difficult to deal with. Seeing yourself as one of the heavier friends puts a lot of pressure on you to not be that person when you may not even be in the situation you put yourself.

Honestly, the evolution of society as a whole is the reason for eating disorders and ultimately insecurities in general today. Not only the media, but the development of the notion of what is "right" and "desirable" are at fault. It baffles me that the world has come this far in its abilities to make people feel so terribly about themselves. Back in the days of the roman empire, plus-sized women were considered the most beautiful and widely accepted. It's how we've molded today's society and these obscene and hurtful expectations that have arisen that make it so difficult for people to find themselves adequate. I strive to right this wrong that has infected the world today, but have no hope for the future of these insecurities.