When a girl becomes a teenager, her mother rewards her with plastic surgery so she can look more “caucasian” (Hidayat). The previous statement was written about young asian women in Japan and Korea. Nina Hidayat wrote an article about the expectations and body image issues for young women in Asia. When people think about body image, they only think of the US. Not many people think about how those in other countries have the same issues we do. Studies show that the more reality television a young girl watches, the more likely she is to find appearance important (Web 1). The media plays a large role in how women perceive body image and themselves (ie, magazines, internet, television, etc). The results said peers predict the negative outcomes …show more content…
Some of the things a person may do are extreme dieting, excessive exercising, and taking diet pills. However some of these things can lead to an eating disorder. Eating disorders are a group of serious conditions in which you are so preoccupied with food and weight that you can often focus on little else. The main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder (Staff). Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder characterized by an unrealistic fear of weight gain,self-starvation, and conspicuous distortion of body image. The individual is obsessed with becoming increasingly thin and limits food intake to the point where their health is compromised (Web 7). Bulimia nervosa is a serious and sometimes life threatening eating disorder affecting mainly young women. People with bulimia consume large amounts of food (binge) and then try to rid themselves of the food and calories by fasting, excessive exercise, vomiting or by using laxatives (Web 8). Binge eating disorder is characterized by a loss of control over eating behaviors. A binge eater consumes unnatural large amounts of food in a short period, but unlike a bulimic, does not regularly engage in any inappropriate weight-reducing behaviors following the binge episodes (Web 9). Estimated that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder, 7/8 are women and 1/8 are men (Web 3). Some of these people may not realize …show more content…
Studies were done in Hong Kong, China about the extreme things young women will do to stay skinny so they can be accepted into society. Pressure on women to be thin is very intense in Asia. Philipa Yu, a clinical psychologist at the Hong Kong Eating Disorders Association said that the magic number is to be under 100 pounds, no matter height or weight (Chu). The previous statement explains the pressure on Asian women to be of very low weight. However, added to the pressure on them to be a very low weight, they must also have no muscles on their bodies. Sing Lee, director of the Hong Kong Eating Disorders Center at Chinese University said women in Asia want to stay skinny without exercising because muscles are not considered a feminine feature (Chu). Responding to the pressures being put on them, the women result to some normal, but most extreme ways of dieting. Women eat less or take diet pills to maintain body weight. Nevertheless, some women in Hong Kong go to slimming centers throughout the city for ultrasounds, electrical stimulation and infrared radiation that promise to take away inches of fat. Another way of dieting in Hong Kong is to swallow parasites (Chu). The most common parasite swallowed is the tapeworm. When the person swallow the tapeworm, the tapeworm will burrow in their stomach. The tapeworm will then eat the food the person digests. When it eats this food, it reduces the amount of food and calorie intake.