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Issue Description
Young people often worry about their size and shape, and in some this can give rise to an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. This book looks at the types of disordered eating which affect many young people today and at how charities, the government and families can help men and women who suffer from these eating disorders.
The information comes from a variety of sources, including government reports and statistics, newspapers and magazine articles, surveys and polls, academic research and literature from charities and lobby groups; articles have been tailored to an 11 to 14 age group. Additionally, at the end of each chapter are two pages of activities relating to the articles and issues raised in that chapter.
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Key Facts
- A lot of young people want to be thinner – even though many of them are not overweight in the first place. They often try to lose weight by dieting or skipping meals. For some, worries about weight become an obsession. This can turn into a serious eating disorder. (page 1)
- Having anorexia means you think you are fat even when you are very thin. You often go to a lot of trouble to avoid eating. You may also make yourself throw up, take laxatives or spend hours exercising. (page 3)
- In developed countries, around one or two in every 200 young women have bulimia. Men can have bulimia too, but it’s much more common in women. (page 4)
- Binge eating is different from normal appetite increases or overeating from time to time. People with a binge eating problem eat unusually large amounts of food on a regular basis. (page 6)
- A survey by Girlguiding UK found that 12 per cent of 10- to 11-year-old girls wish to make themselves thinner. And 21 per cent of 11- to 16-year-olds and 33 per cent of 16- to 21-year-olds would also like to be thinner. (page 12)
- Research commissioned by Central YMCA, the UK’s leading activity for health charity, revealed that 90 per cent of people believe the media and advertising industry should use models with a broader range of body sizes. (page 19)
- Many girls say their mother has the biggest influence on their own self-image and they feel damaged by the effects of their mum’s dieting and views on food. (page 15)
- 26 per cent of 14- and 15-year-olds often don’t eat breakfast, 22 per cent skip lunch and ten per cent regularly go without either, a study by the Schools Health Education Unit has found. (page 17)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One: Disordered Eating
Eating disorders, Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge eating, Bullying and eating disorders, Men and eating disorders – some facts, Activities.
Chapter Two: Body Image and the Media
Girls’ attitudes, Anxiety over body image, Girls ‘damaged’ by mums’ diets, Living on one meal a day, Airbrushed ads damaging a generation of young women, Activities.
Chapter Three: Recovery
What are the treatments for eating disorders?, Eating disorders in teenagers, Unhealthy relationships with food – a first-hand account, Self-help tips, Anorexia risk ‘could be predicted’, Activities.