The Causes of Eating Disorders for High School Students and How Can it be Mitigated - Essay Example

? What are the causes of the common types of eating disorders for high school and how can it be mitigated? David Henry Licuanan Dithmer Meeting Individual Needs With Technology EDU620 Chenee Gilbert Date Eating disorders is a global public health problem. It is estimated that about 70 million people are affected by this condition worldwide. However, the majority of the victims are not aware of their condition hence do not receive medical attention. 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 about 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 are 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 case of Tyra Bank, millions of teenagers are influenced in her direction. As result, teenagers especially girls engage in abnormal eating behaviors to lose weight and appear beautiful. Again, because of social pressure, the overweight students are criticized and bullied by their colleagues. This makes them to be very conscious of their body weight and hence start to find means normalizing even if it means compromising ones health. Another serious cause of eating disorders is poor dieting. In some schools especially in developing countries, the food provided to student is not always balanced in terms of nutrients and quantity. Consequently, students take small quantities or refrain completely from taking meals.. The most advocated solution to public health problems falls within preventive intervention. To this end, incorporating the healthy eating habits in the curriculum is a good starting point. This is because, behavior is learnt. Reinforcing such behavior through classroom learning is therefore crucial. In the process, the student is given an opportunity to access and interrogate the information on dietary habits. In the end he or she becomes aware of the consequences of behaving in certain way through active engagement of mind processes and accumulated knowledge. To complement this strategy, the schools should also provide nutritious meals to students in order to increase intake. This requires the services of a qualified nutritionist who can advice the management on different ways of improving the diet without necessarily incurring huge cost. Finally, school should provide counseling services to students emphasizing on the need to accept one physique. References Gray, J.A. & Nacy, A. (2004). Fundermentals of educational research. London: Routledge. Laird, B. & Janet, T. (2008). Eating disorders for dummies. Hoboken: Wiley Publishing, Inc. Susan, S. (2010). Medical management of eating disoders. Cambridge: Cambridge UP Read More