Running head: MEDIA IMAGES AND EATING DISORDERS1 MEDIA IMAGES AND EATING DISORDERS6 Title: Media Images and Eating Disorders Name: Course: Lecturer: Date: March 8, 2020 Introduction In today's world, many people have an access to the media comprised of the Internet which includes social media platforms, the print media which is comprised of newspapers and magazines, and broadcast media which includes televisions and radios. The exposure to the aforementioned types of media has been associated with the increasing cases of eating disorders as reported by some researchers (Latzer, Spivak-Lavi, & Katz, 2015, p. 375). Studies have shown that children and young adolescents spent about 5 hours a day watching the television and about 7 hours using the various types of media combined (Morris & Katzman, 2003, p. 287). Effects of the media on eating disorders have been influenced by the decreasing weights of the beauty pageants, actresses, and models who many young people especially the young girls look up to in terms of setting standards of beauty (Spettigue &Henderson, 2004, p. 16). Generally, girls want to weigh less while on the contrary, boys want to get bigger and muscular which is influenced by their various role models who are displayed by the media (Morris & Katzman, 2003, p. 287). Magazines, advertisements, and television shows have contributed a lot to eating disorders in girls and women and researchers have found out that women's magazines have about 10 times more promotion of diet foods as compared to men's magazines (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004, p. 16). Despite the cases of eating disorders being associated with the young people, it does not mean that it is not present in older adults. In fact, people of all ages have been affected by the media which has led to this health condition. On the bright side, one can avoid being influenced by the media to embrace bad eating patterns by being keen with the content they choose to view and also relying on the advice of health care providers on the healthiest ways of living to mention but a few. Causes of Eating Disorders Mentioning that the media has contributed to eating disorders is not sufficient enough and therefore the topic needs to be tackled deeply. The most affected groups are children, adolescents, and emerging adults. The social media can be said to be one of the major platforms which is associated with body image and eating complications (Rodgers & Melioli, 2016, p. 96). The Internet and specifically the social media have a new kind of mass media which highly promotes content of why people should become thin or why particular diets are the best, the nature of the modern forms of media encourage users to create their personal profiles and post their pictures and this has been used by celebrities to influence other people, and the existence of groups which promote weight loss by misleading people into making bad feeding decisions (Rodgers & Melioli, 2016, p. 96). In addition, ...

1. Running head: MEDIA IMAGES AND EATING DISORDERS1
MEDIA IMAGES AND EATING DISORDERS6
Title: Media Images and Eating Disorders
Name:
Course:
Lecturer:
Date: March 8, 2020
Introduction
In today's world, many people have an access to the media
comprised of the Internet which includes social media
platforms, the print media which is comprised of newspapers
and magazines, and broadcast media which includes televisions
and radios. The exposure to the aforementioned types of media
has been associated with the increasing cases of eating disorders
as reported by some researchers (Latzer, Spivak-Lavi, & Katz,
2015, p. 375). Studies have shown that children and young
adolescents spent about 5 hours a day watching the television
and about 7 hours using the various types of media combined
(Morris & Katzman, 2003, p. 287). Effects of the media on
eating disorders have been influenced by the decreasing weights
of the beauty pageants, actresses, and models who many young
people especially the young girls look up to in terms of setting
standards of beauty (Spettigue &Henderson, 2004, p. 16).

2. Generally, girls want to weigh less while on the contrary, boys
want to get bigger and muscular which is influenced by their
various role models who are displayed by the media (Morris &
Katzman, 2003, p. 287). Magazines, advertisements, and
television shows have contributed a lot to eating disorders in
girls and women and researchers have found out that women's
magazines have about 10 times more promotion of diet foods as
compared to men's magazines (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004, p.
16). Despite the cases of eating disorders being associated with
the young people, it does not mean that it is not present in older
adults. In fact, people of all ages have been affected by the
media which has led to this health condition. On the bright side,
one can avoid being influenced by the media to embrace bad
eating patterns by being keen with the content they choose to
view and also relying on the advice of health care providers on
the healthiest ways of living to mention but a few.
Causes of Eating Disorders
Mentioning that the media has contributed to eating disorders is
not sufficient enough and therefore the topic needs to be tackled
deeply. The most affected groups are children, adolescents, and
emerging adults. The social media can be said to be one of the
major platforms which is associated with body image and eating
complications (Rodgers & Melioli, 2016, p. 96). The Internet
and specifically the social media have a new kind of mass media
which highly promotes content of why people should become
thin or why particular diets are the best, the nature of the
modern forms of media encourage users to create their personal
profiles and post their pictures and this has been used by
celebrities to influence other people, and the existence of
groups which promote weight loss by misleading people into
making bad feeding decisions (Rodgers & Melioli, 2016, p. 96).
In addition, young people are the heavy users of the Internet
and many of them spend many hours in social media platforms
and also, the Internet is vital tool of development of certain

3. qualities in adolescents which include, identity, self-worth, and
peer relations (Rodgers & Melioli, 2016, p. 97).
However, the media cannot be entirely blamed for promoting
eating disorders. Actually, there are other factors which play a
major role in causing this health condition and they may
contribute solely to the problem or work together with the
media to cause it. These factors include; genetic factors which
means that the eating disorder can be inherited from family
members, body dissatisfaction which could cause individuals to
engage in disordered eating behavior with an aim of moving
closer to the thin ideal which is mostly promoted by the media,
perfectionism which may lead to a person wanting to have a
perfect body, high levels of stress, anxiety, anger, and
depression may also lead to eating disorders, and abuses such as
sexual and childhood problems may cause eating disorders
(Salafia, Jones, & Schaefer, 2015, para. 9-12). Some of these
factors can be accelerated further by the media making it a
major factor that contributes to eating disorders generally.
Solution
s to Eating Disorders
Eating disorder is a health condition which can be avoided or
treated with time. There are some practices which an individual
can embrace for media self-care which include; choosing and
using media which supports one's values and beliefs and
contributes to building their personal attributes, limiting oneself
from spending a lot of time watching television or engaging in
social media platforms, questioning any content posted on the

4. media in terms of its authenticity, the target audience, and the
reason for the provision of the message and who benefits from
it, giving the media platforms feedback on the type of content
they post and the reasons why one thinks they should maintain
or remove some content, and advocating for positive body talk
by posting helpful content which promotes healthy living and
not one that influences people to engage in disordered eating
habits ("Media and eating disorders," n.d., 10-14). There have
been many online campaigns which fight against body shaming,
sexism, and use of unrealistic model images ("Social media and
eating disorders," n.d., para. 8). These campaigns have led to
people accepting themselves the way they are and this reduces
the risk of indulging in unhealthy eating behaviors so as to fit in
or feel accepted. Social media platforms are working very hard
to ensure that everyone is comfortable using the social networks
where a sense of community is being instilled into every user.
The media should be used to promote healthy living rather than
spread misleading information which affects the health of its
users.
Conclusion
The media has contributed a lot to the increasing cases of eating
disorders through various outlets like the broadcast media, print
media, and the Internet. Children and adolescents have been
found to be the heavy users of the Internet and broadcast media
which display the images and videos of famous people. Many of

5. these platforms promote thinness in women and muscularity in
men. The young people who look up to these celebrities may
wish to look like their idols, and in the process engage in
disordered eating behaviors. Media may not solely contribute to
eating disorders but it can accelerate other causes like
perfectionism, mental disorders, abuses, and genetic factors. In
order to mitigate the risks of media and eating disorders, it
should start as a personal initiative where one chooses the
content which to view on the media, promote healthy lifestyle,
and provide feedback to media platforms on what content they
should display to the people. The media can therefore, be used
to also reduce cases of eating disorders.
References
Latzera, Y., Spivak-Lavia, Z., & Katza, R. (2015). Disordered
eating and media exposure among adolescent girls: the role of
parental involvement and sense of empowerment. International
Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 20(3): 375–391.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2015.1014925
Mirror Mirror. Eating Disorder Help. (n.d.). Social media and
eating disorders. Retrieved March 8, 2020 from,
https://www.mirror-mirror.org/social-media.htm
Morris, A.M. & Katzman, D.K. (2003). The impact of the media
on the eating disorders in children and adolescents. Pediatrics
Child Health, 8(5): 287-289. doi: 10.1093/pch/8.5.287

6. NEDA. Feeding hope. (n.d.). Media and eating disorders.
Retrieved March 8, 2020 from,
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/media-eating-disorders
Rodgers, R.F. & Melioli, T. (2016). The relationship between
body image concerns, eating disorders, and Internet use, part I:
A review of empirical support. Adolescent Research Review,
1(2016): 95-119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-015-0016-6
Salafia, E.H.B., Jones, M.E., & Schaefer, M.K. (2015).
Perception of the causes of eating disorders: a comparison of
individuals with and without eating disorders. Journal of Eating
Disorders, 3(32). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-015-0069-8
Spettigue, W. & Henderson, K.A. (2004). Eating disorders and
the role of media. Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, 131): 16-19. Retrieved
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2533817/#__ffn
_sectitle
Testing/diagnosis
Tests that are used to diagnose autism are done in various fields
such as psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, and neurology.
Diagnosis is established after observing the child’s behavior
and testing the child’s abilities in these fields. Any child should

7. be examined for developmental abilities from birth to the age of
three. If a child is detected with some developmental delays or
disabilities, the pediatrician should refer the child to a
specialist in early Intervention.
Some of the behaviors that need to be noticed are:
· Absence of babbling and making gestures by the age of 12
months
· Absence of any word utterances by the age of 16 months
· Absence of two-word unprompted phrases by the age of 24
months
· Loss of social and language skills at any age
In order to determine whether a child has a disorder in the
autism spectrum a psychiatrist will likely look at a variety of
factors. These might include such things as:
· Evaluation of the medical history of the child’s mother during
her pregnancy
· Assessment of the developmental milestones
· Complete physical examination
· Habits of eating and sleeping
· Functioning of the stomach and bowels
· Coordination disabilities
· Sensory impairments
· Allergies
· Any medical diseases
· History of developmental disorders in the family

8. · History of genetic and metabolic disorders in the family
· Exposure of the child or parents to toxins
Some tests may be done to confirm that the symptoms of the
child are not due to other conditions which may seem like
autism spectrum disorder, such as genetic or metabolic diseases,
mental retardation, and deafness. These tests are:
Chromosomal Analysis This is performed to test for mental
retardation. If there is mental retardation in the child's family,
this test may be conducted. For instance, fragile X syndrome
that leads to symptoms of low levels of intelligent may be
diagnosed with chromosomal analysis.
Electroencephalograph (EEG) If there are symptoms of
seizures and developmental regression, then an EEG is
conducted.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) An MRI is done to detect
any structural differences in the brain.