Dying to be thin

Many people especially women make great sacrifice in the quest to be beautiful and desirable. In the world today many young girls and women have chosen to be thin at any cost. Anorexia is a disease which will make a person thin but only after sacrificing good health. What makes people, especially girls, become anorexic? There are many answers to that question but the main answer would be that, the girls want to have a perfect body with no fat. In their opinion it is the easiest way to lose weight and look “better”. Most of us would disagree with their opinion. But girls who are desperately trying to lose weight think differently. Every one of us had a situation in which we would make a bad decision, although it looked the best for us at that time. This is what is happening with anorexia and girls with anorexia.

First of all, what is anorexia? Anorexia is an illness that uusually occurs in teenage girls, but it can also occur in teenage boys, and adult women and men. People with anorexia are obsessed with being thin. They lose a lot of weight and are scared of gaining weight. They believe tthat they are fat even though they are not; they are very thin. People with anorexia starve themselves and exercise constantly. People with anorexia lose weight by reducing their total food intake to almost nothing and exercising excessively and compulsively.

The cause of anorexia is very complicated and still being studied. People who develop anorexia become compulsive about trying to reach an “ideal” body. The cause for most people is a lack of self esteem and the need to have control in their lives. People with anorexia always complain about how fat they are and how much weight they have to lose. Every time they look at the mirror they see themselves as being very fat. They start pretending that they aare not hungry, even though all that they are doing is thinking of food. But this disease goes beyond looking thin. Most anorexics have little control over events in their life. They can‘t control their parents, teachers, coaches, friends and problems but they can control how much food they put in their mouth. No matter how bad their day is, as long as they starve themselves they are in control. Some anorexics become so after an illness like a stroke oor heart attack because they feel guilt. Had they been thinner this might not have happened. Then something strange happens inside their heads. They begin to believe that they are not losing fast enough and are not showing enough self control. Then they begin to have a false perspective of their appearance. While other people might be horrified at their sudden loss of weight, the anorexic sees only fat on them.

The effect of anorexia would be a severe and life threatening illness. If anorexia is in its early period, less than 6 months or with just a small amount of weight loss, people might not need a doctor‘s help to cure the compulsion. Patients must want to change and must have families to help them. There are ...