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Anorexia Nervosa

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Anorexia is an eating disorder of abnormal weight loss dropping below 85% of what was previously considered normal. This is characterised by low blood pressure, amenorrhoea and depression, as well as other bodily changes. Anorexia is caused by strict controls on weight and unusual eating habits which can be explained through both psychological and biological explanations.
The psychological explanation of anorexia is explained through cultural ideas in the media which portrays thin models on TV and magazines. This is a significant contributory factor in body image concerns and the drive for thinness among Western adolescent girls.
Research by Jones and Buckingham found that people with low self-esteem are more likely to compare themselves to idealised imagines portrayed in the media.
There is a wealth of evidence to support the view that the mass media portrays slender as a beauty ideal which people strive to follow.
For instance, Goresz et al (2001) reviewed 25 studies and showed that this ideal causes bodily dissatisfaction and contributes to the development of eating disorders, particularly affecting girls aged 19 and below.
Furthermore, there also comes support from a natural observation carried out by Becker et al (2002) in a study of Fijian adolescents. It was found that after the introduction of television to an island, these girls stated a desire to lose weight and be like the Western women on the television.
This study can be praised for being extremely high in ecological validity and displaying possibly no extraneous variables, therefore acting as strong evidence to support the psychological explanation of anorexia through cultural ideas in the

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