The number of men and women with eating disorders has doubled within the past ten years. A recent survey from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that through the years 1999-2006, hospitalizations for eating disorders rose in children under 12 years old, 119 percent. These disorders need to be a higher priority for people. The root of this increase is our society. The pressures young women undergo in todays world are too high, and some might not be able to handle them.

All over, people only see the ideal woman or man. The problem is, these images warp young minds. Girls and boys feel they should look a certain way, and they will go to extremes to get it. Any type of eating disorder is dangerous enough to kill you. The rise of them in even younger children is the most frightening. Eating disorders are serious diseases that are starting to affect more people.

Disorders like these are psychiatric illnesses, that require treatment to be cured. The two most common forms are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is when someone starves themselves, and skips meals. Bulimia is when the person will binge eat and then purge by self-induced vomiting. These conditions have serious consequences, made obvious through the health issues caused.

Anorexia and bulimia are a danger to a person's health. A few problems caused are: weakened organs, depression, dizziness, weakness, fainting, and even death. In young people, they are more dangerous because most teens have usually not gone through puberty. With puberty comes weight gain, and teenagers with an eating problem are often worsened by these unexpected changes. These problems will affect the teen emotionally and physically.

Eating disorders are conditions that are a growing threat for young children. Robin Drucker, a pediatrics doctor, argues that “obesity is one of the most dangerous health problems facing children today” (Palto Alto Medical Foundation). She goes on to talk about how obesity is an epidemic. Though obesity is an issue, anorexia and bulimia are even bigger ones. According to Dina Zeckhausen, a psychologist, starting overweight kids on diets can “trigger an obsession with food that can lead to an eating disorder” (CNN). Dina also mentions how many parents try to keep their children from eating unhealthy foods. In extreme cases, this can cause the child to become self- critical. Dina’s point is that we should teach children healthy eating habits, not to not eat at all.

Instead, we teach young children they must look a certain way. Extremly young children are now developing eating disorders, some as young as 8 years old. Dr. Mark Warren, medical director of the Cleveland Center for Eating Disorders states that cases are “way higher than one would expect, with as many as 5 percent of children in fourth and fifth grade showing signs of purging after meals” (The News Herald). Considering in the 1980’s, eating disorders were almost non-existent, these figures are not only disturbing, but upsetting. Young children already have body image issues, at an age when they should be enjoying life.

Another group showing increases are boys. When people think anorexia or bulimia, they think girls are the only ones who have them, but now boys are just as prone to develop them. Writing in the LA Times, Emily Alpert found that boys increasingly use diet substances and purges in LA with “higher-than-average rates also seen in Chicago, Houston, Charlotte, N.C., and elsewhere” (LA Times). This increase is due to boys starting to feel societies pressures as well. While girls want to be skinny, boys feel the need to have muscles in their stomachs and arms. The government also estimated the number of males hospitalized with disorders grew 53% in the last 10 years. A disease once female oriented is now affecting boys, and this is something more people need to realize.

Eating disorders are growing for many reasons, a main problem being people will not seek treatment. There are many effective forms of therapy, but some people are just too ashamed to get help or are in denial. Some popular forms are psychotherapy, or group therapy. Psychotherapy helps the patient gain a normal weight, and eat stable meals. Group therapy is when people with the same disorder can get together to talk. Approximately half the people who sought treatment recovered. Both are solutions to the disorders, but more people need to start getting help for them to work.

If we could change the way people look at themselves, eating disorders would decrease. This could be done by changing the imagines people look at each day, the ones that make them feel self-critical. Although the numbers are on the rise, they can start to decline. It needs to become normal for people that have these conditions to pursue treatment. All these things can help our world become better, and save many people from a disorder that will do nothing but hurt them.