<p>Actually there is a lot of recent scientific research to support the OP’s position. The conventionally held view of eating disorders as resulting primarily from societial or familial pressures is beginning to change in the face of new functional brain imaging and genetics studies. Wolfpiper, I’d stick to the science rather than the “offensive” nature of his comments if you talk to your professor. I’d be happy to PM you some resources. This is a special interest of mine.</p>
<p>"but the professor said that we have eating disorders in society because of “25 pound fashion models,”</p>
<p>If this was said in a psychology or similar class, I think that could go to the professor during office hours and politely bring up some of the research you’re aware of about the causes of eating disorders.</p>
<p>If it was said during a media or similar class, I would let it go as the professor was simply using a bad example to make a point about society or the media and and eating disorders are not the focus of the class. </p>
<p>While what the professor said may be incorrect (I don’t know enough about the subject to judge it), it was not in my opinion harmful or dangerous so if you talk to the professor about it, don’t be aggressive or act like the professor had suggested something like feeding a poison to babies to make them healthier.</p>
<p>Maybe he was just making a side comment, not really caring about how correct what he say is?
If the whole lecture was on eating disorders, it would be ok to point it out. If he was just making a joke, laugh about don’t analyze it.</p>
<p>Oh I know, eating disorders r serious business, we must be PC about it.</p>
<p>But either way don’t make it a personal crusade to prove that he was wrong. It would make you look bad. Just like the stupid people in math class who always have to point out the small errors in numerical calculations that nobody cares about, just to show off how much math they know. losers</p>
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<p>ok, the article is very informative, and now i know that anorexia is not merely a modern disease and there is a (very possible) genetic side to it. however, that doesn’t tell me if anorexia and bulimia were more, less, or just as prevalent in the mid-early 20th century and before compared to the last few decades. i don’t think diabetes was as much of a problem before fast food…but then again i’m not an authority on that, either.</p>
<p>in any case, it seems as if sociologists tend to discount genetics and geneticists tend to discount culture.</p>
<p>You’re right. Even today it’s difficult to get good data on prevalence of eating disorders. Historic information is anecdotal. And you’re absolutely correct that people too often discount perspectives from other fields.</p>
<p>“Just like the stupid people in math class who always have to point out the small errors in numerical calculations that nobody cares about, just to show off how much math they know.”</p>
<p>But worse in so many ways, because the “point” isn’t objectively right or wrong, so it’s very pretentious to think that you’re “correcting” anything.</p>
<p>Ah, so this is the same discussion as this one <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=407230[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=407230</a></p>
<p>“I’m sure they’ll be glad to tell you how they’re all just doing this to look like models…”</p>
<p>What’s the disorder that compells somebody to spend all day drawing attention to their bulimia by posting about it on Livejournal communities?</p>
<p>i don’t know anyone who enjoys the sick-looking bony look</p>
<p>Dude SilvaRua, you are awesome.</p>
<p>What really peeves me off is when people talk about eating disorders and completely skip over probably the most prevalent eating disorder in the US- compulsive overeating. But of course, those people are all lazy and just need to diet and exercise- eating yourself to death does not get the same sympathy as starving yourself to death.</p>
<p>I’m overweight due to health issues that were only recently diagnosed. In my 5 year journey to figure out what the hell was wrong with me, my physician assumed that I was just lying about what I ate and sent me to a series of compulsive overeating and binge eating group therapy sessions. It was fascinating- the compulsion to eat was just as strong if not stronger than the compulsion to starve. Some of the people (often 300-400 lbs+) talked about getting rid of all of the sweets and simple carbs in their houses only to an hour later have a panic attack and order $70 worth of Chinese food and down it in a sitting. </p>
<p>Interestingly enough, the therapist told me that many compulsive overeaters at one point or another with either anorexic or bulimic. I don’t know of where the studies came from, but as a disordered eating psychologist, I trust her. Eating disorders are about control over what you put into your body or that substance controlling you (be it by overeating or by not eating, it’s really the same), not about looking a certain way. Wanting to be skinny or thinking you are too fat is just a manifestation of the control problem, not the reason for it.</p>
<p>/rant</p>
<p>^I’ve definitely witnessed what your describing, i.e. someone with an eating disorder who knows they look horrible/too skinny, but can’t stop the compulsion. </p>
<p>I don’t get why this problem only exists in the U.S. and parts of Canada-everybody in Europe is thin and naturally beautiful.</p>
<p>you obviously have not been to europe before</p>
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<p>SilvaRua covered most of this, but I’d just like to point out that though nobody consciously diets because they see Gisele Bundchen and go “OMG I need to look like that”, people diet because society’s perception is that to be sexy, you need to look like Gisele Bundchen.</p>
<p>In high school my friends and I would ask girls we knew - girls who are already thin, possibly even pushing the line between healthily and unhealthily thin - if they needed to lose weight. Inevitably they all said yes. Granted, I’m not American, so I can’t speak to American issues with weight in general, but the overall perception is that to be good-looking, you must be skinny, and what we perceive as good-looking is primarily determined by culture, which in turn is shaped substantially by the media. In some societies, to be obese is to be sexy, and this is fed by a cultural feedback loop (the puns are not intended). In modern Western-influenced society, we have a feedback loop in the other direction.</p>
<p>I actually know someone who knows it doesn’t make sense to be stick-thin, but wants to diet anyway (despite having a perfectly fine and healthy figure) because society rewards those who look good by its standards. (And if you don’t believe this, over a third of Fortune 500 CEOs are six feet or taller - height is something we consider desirable, especially in males - and likewise, there is a very strong considerable link between attractiveness and success for politicians.)</p>
<p>Models and the mass media don’t directly cause people to diet - people don’t look at someone “sexy” and say “I need to look like that!” - but they feed into our culture’s pre-existing views of what is good-looking and maintain our perception of good looks. And we want to look good, because we want to feel good about ourselves and we want to get ahead. And so we diet, sometimes to the point where it’s unhealthy. The same can be said for any number of other “desirable” traits - Chinese undergo surgery to get double eyelids, or to have their bones lengthened so they’ll be taller. It’s a fact.</p>
<p>You can argue otherwise - there’s certainly a lot of room for debate over the primary cause(s) of anorexia and eating disorders in general - but to say it’s offensive to hold that fashion models contribute significantly (and I use significantly in the statistical sense here) to the problem is simply…stupid. Debate the issue with your prof during office hours, but don’t expect an apology.</p>