Student Xpress Features

'Anorexia Nervosa , extreme body emaciation caused by emotional or psychological aversion to foods and to eating. The condition occurs predominantly in young women'. (Britannica Encyclopaedia).

Starving for Success???
Frances Smith, St. Joseph's Secondary School, Newtownforbes, writes about producers who feel these days that beauty is represented by a thin, scrawny, skin-and-bones girl. This is not beauty. This is disastrous! It is time to really see the story behind the bill-board image and to recognise the false dream it represents, once and for all.

Anorexia Nervosa - the facts
Grainne Donovan, Regina Mundi College, Cork outlines the facts behind this condition.

Starving for Success???

While sitting down to view "20/20" on Monday morning of March 20th, 2000, I came across an interview with Hollywood stars. The topic of conversation was "How skinny is Calista Flockhart?" and how Posh Spice feels she can bring herself from a perfect size 10 down to an alarming size 6 by just running after her new born baby! "I'm only after having a baby, I spend every spare minute running after him," was a recent quote by the pop star. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't new-born babies just lie in the cot crying, wanting a feed or a change every 3-4 hours??? Jennifer Anniston says: "I eat more now than ever before" and yet she still manages to slip down and down in clothes sizes. Courtney Cox Arquette is also another one whom viewers are fearing will drop dead on the stage if she doesn't take care of herself.

Hollywood stars are all going through it - the pressures of staying thin, trying to look your best and hopefully land a job where you are accepted for your beauty. I personally fear it has gone too far. Actresses and models are admired by teenagers, but how can the youth of today believe that they should be loved for who they are, when advertisements and magazines are all showing photos of underweight celebrities? Ask most teenage males who they admire and their answer is sure to include Jennifer Anniston, Jennifer Lopez or Victoria Adams. Billboards all across the country are showing the three "Friends" stars- Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Anniston with the caption - "Cute Anorexic Chicks". It is as if they are telling us that you can only be cute if you are anorexic.

But it is not only teenagers who are being affected. Parents of six or seven year old children are watching their daughters coming into a room grabbing their thighs saying - "Look Daddy! Do you think I'm fat?" This crazed obsession with weight has got to stop but the actresses are afraid to speak out for fear of getting fired. The Hollywood producers call the shots and I fear the only way they are going to see sense is when one of their stars drops down from exhaustion on screen. "Clueless" co-star, Jessica Lyons spoke out saying how worried she is. She has personally been through anorexia and she knows plenty of other actresses who are battling with the illness right now. At Jessica's worst, she was down to an alarming 90lbs and she was only eating 1/2 teaspoon of yoghurt in the morning and a cupful of grapes in the evening! It took a near-death hospital visit for Jessica to wake up and start treating her body and herself with respect.

Maybe her story should inspire other young actors and actresses. Producers feel these days that beauty is represented by a thin, scrawny, skin-and-bones girl. This is not beauty. This is disastrous! It is time to really see the story behind the bill-board image and to recognise the false dream it represents, once and for all.

By Frances Smith (St. Joseph's Secondary School, Newtownforbes, Co.Longford. 5th year student)

'Anorexia Nervosa , extreme body emaciation caused by emotional or psychological aversion to foods and to eating. The condition occurs predominantly in young women'. (Britannica Encyclopaedia).

What are the symptoms of Anorexia?
Information on this subject to date indicates that early signs of one or more of the following symptoms should give rise for concern:

Those suffering from this eating disorder may also:

Make excuses to avoid family meal times in order to avoid eating.
Wear baggy clothes firstly to conceal weight loss and secondly , they may have a distorted view of their bodies which makes them feel they are too fat for figure hugging clothes.
Lose interest in the opposite sex as hormones only react when the body reaches a certain weight.

Who is Anorexic?
In 1998 Bodywhys, an organisation for people with anorexia (self starvation) and bulimia (binge eating and vomiting) estimated that there were at least 9,000 people, mostly women between the ages of 14 and 20 with such problems in Ireland. Doctors and psychologists are also now preparing to treat anorexia patients as young as 4 years of age.

Who is to blame for Anorexia?
Concern has been expressed by many that extremely thin supermodels, celebrities and popstars encourage young people to develop eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa by giving the example that the slim body image is necessary for success. In an article in the 'Irish Examiner' in March of this year however Gerry Butcher, a psychotherapist in charge of the Eating Disorder Recovery Programmme at St. John of God's Hospital stated that: 'Body image is still a huge issue, but it's not as simple as that. The young people themselves would agree that the eating disorder is essentially a means of coping when their whole environment is in chaos'.

Other experts reiterate this by stating that anorexics are psychologically vulnerable. They are caught up in a lonely world where denying the body food is the only way he/she knows to keep things in control. The underlying problems that give rise to anorexia can be bullying, abuse, marriage breakdown, work or school related pressures, low self esteem, unrealistically high expectations and coping with puberty.

Is there a cure?
There can be many difficulties in dealing with eating disorders. Young adolescents may not be able or willing to articulate what's going on in their lives and parents may not understand the illness and become frustrated. However, modern treatment programmes are mainly successful. 'Generally, if we see someone within 18 months to 2 years of the disorder starting the recovery rate is around 90%. It decreases by about 10% for every year after that but that does not rule out recovery even after prolonged periods', said Gerry Butcher of St. John of God's hospital. 'What's heartening too is that I have never yet met a recovered anorexic who is sorry they are recovered. They are always glad to be out of the grip of the disorder'.

Information and support is available to people with eating disorders and to their families and friends from Bodywhys at (01) 2835126.

Is there an ideal weight?
According to Professor Ian Mc Donald (a specialist in obesity) there is no such thing as one shape or size for everyone and claims that for some women being thin maybe an ideal shape. 'It's about finding a weight range at which you look and feel healthy. If you eat well and exercise you will achieve a weight which is optimum for you, even if it is less or more than the so called 'ideal'. What is important is that we look at the health of the individual. If somebody is an active person who eats and exercises regularly then there is no real cause to worry. They may be a dress size smaller or larger than the next person but this should be viewed as a quirk of the individual and not an abnormal health deviation'.

By: Grainne Donovan (aged 16 )
Year: Transition Year in Regina Mundi College, Cork

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Anorexia Nervosa

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Starving for Success???

Anorexia Nervosa - the facts