The Causes of Eating Disorders for High School Students and How Can it Essay

The Causes of Eating Disorders for High School Students and How Can it be Mitigated - Essay Example The most affected are children and teenagers which constitute about 90%. It has also been found that women have a high prevalence rate than men with about 1 in 5 women showing symptoms of eating disorders. Though, the number of male victims has been doubling. With about 5.6% of teenagers dying of eating disorders related illness, this condition qualifies to be an educational problem (Laird & Janet, 2010). Therefore, the choice the topic is relevant for research purposes. Moreover, the worst hit by the condition are school going children. To this end, this research essay seeks to answer three research questions. They are: What are the common types of eating disorders for high school children? What are the causes? How can it be mitigated? In developing the research question, the following procedure was followed. After deciding on the research a topic, an extensive literature review was done after which clear and concise questions were posed. However, the questions are broad and a short research essay may cover the issues comprehensively. The research also relies on the analysis of existing data and information and this may result into unreliable and invalid findings and conclusions. . Since the research concentrates on seeking answers to eating disorders in high school children, it can be classified under explanatory research. This type of research attempts to ask questions why a given phenomena exits or why an occurrence has happened (Gary & Nancy). Many medical authors define eating disorders as a group of psychological condition that alters a person eating habits and behavior. These habits are unhealthy, maladaptive and abnormal in nature. Therefore, the disorder affects both the physical and emotional states of the victims. Although there are many eating disorders, three types are common in high school children namely: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. The anorexia nervosa is characterized by maintenance of low body weight brought a bout by too much concern about body weight and shape. The affected students have great fear of becoming fat. This condition is dominant in girls because they are more preoccupied with image than boys. To achieve low weight, the students take food with low calorific value. The symptoms of this condition include: weak body brought by poor nutrition, bone loss and absence of menstruation in girls. It also results into late puberty and stunted growth (Susan, 2008). The second type, bulimia nervosa is characterized by excessive intake of food after short interval followed by compensatory habits such as excessive exercise and induced vomiting. This disorder leads to digestive system problems, dehydration and fatigue. The last type, the binge eating disorder, is simply recurrent large intake of food without practicing compensatory habit. The victims have no control of their condition and in most cases feel ashamed of it. This disorder can cause obesity. Other diseases associated with it ar e diabetes, high blood pressure and stoke. It is difficult to determine the exact cause of eating disorder in an individual. Nevertheless, several factors have been found to cause eating disorders. These range from biological to cultural. However, the later is the main cause of this condition. The problem has got more to do with fashion trend than genetics. Currently, most people in the world associate thinness of body with beauty. The media has propagated this notion by misinforming the public that the starting point to modeling is body size. When a celebrated artist or star supports such a position as in the recent