Eating Disorders:
Anorexia, Bulimia, Pica
Sample Extended Definition
Essay Flowchart
Be sure to check out the course, "Understanding Anorexia" - receive continuing education units, certificate, and possible transfer credit.
Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.
Downloadable mp3 audio file script: http://www.beyondutopia.net/podcasts/eating-disorders.mp3
It is an ironic counterpoint to the obesity epidemic. Adult women weighing as little as 56 pounds and so malnourished that their bodies are shutting down continue to starve themselves, continuing to believe that they are fat, or are teetering on the edge of out-of-control weight gain. Any sense that the weight loss was to become more attractive wears away as one looks at the frighteningly skeletal bodies. When one compares "before / after" photos, one finds oneself wanting to blurt out that the anorexia or bulimia-driven woman looked more attractive before, even if she considered herself a bit plump.
Although the quest for thinness may seem admirable, when it spirals out of control, so do the negative health consequences. Among the more common side effects of induced vomiting are extreme tooth decay, ruptured esophagus, seizures, heart arrhythmia, stroke, and even heart attack. Victims who suffered fatal heart attacks include Karen Carpenter. Terry Schiavo, whose case became a flash-point for quality of life and right-to-die debates, fell into a coma as a consequence, according to medical experts, of practices associated with bulimia.
Because eating disorders touch almost all women, either directly or indirectly, it is a topic that is quite engaging for first-year composition classes.
Interest-Grabbing Illustrative Scene:
Varieties of eating disorders in action. Scene of a person who suffers from
anorexia. Scene of a person who suffers from
bulimia. A scene of a person who
suffers from pica. Take a look at the photo of Allegra Versace (heir to the
Versace designer empire) and her mother, Donatella. You might start with a description.
You can also do research on the models who have died of eating disorders.
Eating Disorders Overview: What are they?
What are eating disorders? What are common types of eating disorders? Anorexia,
bulimia, pica, etc. Who suffers from them? Where and why? This should be a brief
overview.
Types of Eating Disorders:
Type 1: Anorexia (long paragraph - 125 words or so)
What is it? What are the most common behaviors? How common is it? Which well-known
people have suffered from it? What happens to people with this kind of eating
disorder? What are the physical and psychological consequences? What are some
of the reasons for it? What are possible
treatments? Are they successful?
Type 2: Bulimia (long paragraph - 125 words or so)
What is it? What are the most common behaviors? How common is it? Which well-known
people have suffered from it? What happens to people with this kind of eating
disorder? What are the physical and psychological consequences? What are some
of the reasons for it? What are possible treatments? Are they successful?
Type 3: Pica (long paragraph - 125 words or so)
What is it? What are the most common behaviors? How common is it? Which well-known
people have suffered from it? What happens to people with this kind of eating
disorder? What are the physical and psychological consequences? What are some
of the reasons for it? What are possible treatments? Are they successful?
Aspects of Eating Disorders
Aspect 1: Psychological Aspects
What are they? How do they manifest themselves? Are there connections between
depression and eating disorders? Anxiety and eating disorders? Affiliation needs?
Aspect 2: Sociological Aspects
Do individuals acquire eating disorders as a response to social pressures? Is
it a behavior that is both condemned and condoned by one's peer group? How might
sociological pressures present themselves? How does the media influence perceptions?
What can one say about the eating disorder (anorexia, in particular) websites
that seem to encourage and promote eating disorders?
Discussion and Analysis
What are some of the trends? What are your opinions? What do eating disorders
reveal about our society or our ideas about ourselves?
Allegra Versace and
her mother, Donatella
****************
Links to useful sites:
http://www.bulimiasolutions.com http://www.eatingdisordersolutions.com http://www.dietsfortoday.com http://www.dietnever.com http://www.dietforyourlife.com
Key Words for Searches:
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Karen Carpenter
Margaux Hemingway
Mary-Kate Olsen
Allegra Versace - http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2401736.ece
Princess Diana, Diana Spencer
DSM-IV Handbook
Eating Disorder Treatment centers
Eating Disorder Information centers
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Useful Websites:
ANRED: Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders http://www.anred.com/toc.html
Battling Anorexia: The Story of Karen Carpenter. http://atdpweb.soe.berkeley.edu/quest/Mind&Body/Carpenter.html
Fact About Eating Disorders. http://atdpweb.soe.berkeley.edu/quest/Mind&Body/EatingDisorders.html
Speech Given by Diana, Princess of Wales, on Eating Disorders. http://www.settelen.com/diana_eating_disorders.htm
Anorexia and Hollywood (photos of a woman who weighs around 56 pounds. I wonder if she is still alive...) http://et.tv.yahoo.com/celebrities/2733/
Dangerous Extremes: Middle-Aged Women with Eating Disorders// 48 Hours. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/24/48hours/main585266.shtml
Ira Sacker. Dying to be Thin. http://www.twbookmark.com/books/10/0446384178/
Chapter Excerpt of Dying to be Thin. http://www.twbookmark.com/books/10/0446384178/chapter_excerpt14056.html
Anorexia and Bulimia Biographies:
"Good Enough" by Cynthia Nappa Bitter
"Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self" by Lori Gottlieb
"Wasted: A Memoir" by Marya Hornbacher
"Inner Hunger: A Young Woman's Struggle through Anorexia & Bulimia"
by Marianne Apostolides
"My Life as a Male Anorexic" by Michael Krasnow
"Starving for Attention" by Cherry Boone-O'Neill
"Solitaire" by Aimee Liu
"The Art of Starvation" by Sheila McLeod
"My Name is Caroline" by Caroline Adams-Miller
"The Monster Within: Overcoming Bulimia" by Cynthia Rowland
"Diary of an Eating Disorder: A Mother and Daughter Share their Healing
Journey" by Chelsea Brown Smith & Beverly Runton
"Dying to Please: Anorexia Nervosa and Its Cure" by Avis Rumney
"Dark Marathon: The Mary Wazeter Story; The Ongoing Struggles of a World-Class
Runner" by Mary Wazeter (Mannhardt) with Gregg Lewis
NOVELS
"The Best Little Girl in the World" by Steven Levenkron
"Kessa" by Steven Levenkron
"Hunger Point: A Novel" by Jillian Medoff
"The Passion of Alice" by Stephanie Grant
"Eve's Apple: A Novel" by Jonathan Rosen
"Perk" by Liza Hall
"Life Size" by Jenefer Shute
"My Sister's Bones" by Cathi Hanauer
PROANA sites and ANA/MIA sites (Note: this is an extremely destructive trend, and it is dealt with extensively in the course, "Understanding Anorexia")
Many are found on Xanga webrings.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
A brief list of celebrities who have suffered with eating disorders: Calista
Flockhart - Nicole Richie - Mary Kate Olson - Courtney Cox - Sandra Dee
Christina Ricci - Fiona Apple - Dolly Parton - Helga Brathen - Geri Halliwell
- Jane Fonda
