Body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders tag with athletes and young women who are stereotyped to be the only groups suffering from body issues.
Young adults in this generation are tagged with the label of eating disorders, and body image obsession. In “The Hidden Faces of Eating Disorders and Body Image.” the stereotypes attached to this generation is broken down and investigates subjects that cross over on the topic of body image, such as ethnicity, age and gender. The authors speak out about how there are various actions, assessments, prevention and treatments that need to be known to more specialists and young adults.
A research study by Jennifer Mills and Jaqueline Hogue examined the effects social media has on body image and impact on young women in the journal, Body Image. They’re experiment divided 118 female undergraduates, having their first group log into Facebook or Instagram for 5 minutes, asking them to find a peer around their age and decide if they were more “attractive” than themselves. And in the control group, the women did the same thing, but had to leave a comment on a post of a family member they did not consider more “attractive” than themselves.
Results from the test were that the women left/showed they were dissatisfied with their bodies more when comparing their appearance with a peer. When young adults are dissatisfied with their appearance or athleticism, most would take to dieting plans and exercise activities to “achieve” a body appearance social media/society will accept as a “good body.”
Diet plans such as calorie tracker apps increase body awareness for an individual who is trying to lose weight. Tens of millions of people use this method to manage weight, set weight loss goals and log their calorie intake. The BBC investigated calorie counting app users of MyFitnessPal, Lose It! and Lifesum who would post disturbing content on the apps as they updated their food logs for the day. Phrases such as “I overate and I hate my life” or “starved” after going over 1 kcal of their meal.
User of an app such as these, Jack Henderson said using his calorie tracking app allowed his eating disorder to spiral out of control. “…it really fed into this false warped illusion of control that I was in control-but it was controlling me.” This obsession drives millions of young adults over the edge. The fact they based it off of social media and their peers developes long term mental issues, prevention of having this long term weight young adults should seek help.
Along with treatment new generations should be educated on how to use social media and how it’s used to make them feel about themselves and how this could be linked to stringent dieting, eating disorders, or excessive exercise. Those who are extremely vulnerable to this body image exposure expectation are constantly triggered by social media content.
News Comment #4: “Weight-Loss Surgery May Reduce Heart Risks in People with Type 2 Diabetes.”
In an article for The New York Times, written by Roni Caryn Rabin, specialists are suggesting that using bariatric surgery (a weight loss surgery many American undergo to lose/control their weight, especially people with Type 2 Diabetes) gives more positive out comes than just weight loss. A study on the JAMA medical journal shared its findings that the alternatives from this surgery is cutting significant risks of cardiovascular tragedies and premature deaths by almost half.
I liked how the title of this article was very informing but it didn’t have a great hook to catch more of my attention. The title was an exact replica of the article, informing you on what’s going on, not beating around the bush. The body paragraphs were organized well. As in, it began on what the title was about, what the study meant, who it affects, if it’s positive or if it’s negative, who supports it and who contradicts it. It gave great sources of its information on the study and showed the statistics of the cases. Overall I thought this was a good article, not a biased base one. The only thing it would need is a more flashier title to grab more reader’s attention.