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Eating Disorders “Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives” (Neumark-Sztainer, 2005 p.5). According to CaringOnline (2010) eating disorders are serious emotional and physical problems that can have life-threatening consequences for females and men. They include extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues (Eating Disorders). People define eating disorders as problems with appetite or a teens desire to be thin and attractive, yet experts claim that eating disorders represent more than that (Yancey, 1999, p. 20). According to Yancey (1999), they are subconscious ways by which some teens cope with poor self-esteem, anxiety, anger and abuse. Those who develop them are focusing on weight and food because they have not learned more effective ways of solving problems and taking control of their lives (p. 20). There are three major types of Eating Disorders, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and Binge-eating disorder yet anorexia nervosa gets the most attention (Frissell, Harney, 1998, p. 20). Anorexia and bulimia nervosa are eating disorders affecting teenagers, and young adults endangering their lives physically and emotionally.
When diagnosing an eating disorder, professionals often refer to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), published by the American Psychiatric Association (Yancey, 1999, pg. 34). For a diagnosis, however there are certain symptoms that need to be present. For Anorexia Nervosa there are four symptoms: 1.) Refusal to Maintain body weight over a minimal normal weight for age and height—For example, weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight 15% below that expected; or failure to make expected weight during period of growth, leading

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