Source+7

Howard, I. (2006). Media’s Role in Eating Disorders. //Houston Teachers Institute//. Retrieved August 15, 2012, from http://hti.math.uh.edu/curriculum/units/2006/04/06.04.02.php
 * 1) Polls have shown that 80% of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance and that 42% of 1st thru 3rd grade girls wanted to be thinner.
 * 2) Over the years models have become thinner and thinner, with the average weight at about 15 to 20% below what is considered to be healthy for their height and age.
 * 3) According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), 10 million females and 1 million males are battling a major eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.
 * 4) Of new cases of anorexia, 40% are in girls 15-19 years old.
 * 5) An estimated .5 to 3.7 percent of females suffer from anorexia in their lifetime.
 * 6) All eating disorders involve “extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues."
 * 7) For females between the ages of 15 and 24, the mortality rate with anorexia is twelve times higher than the death rate of **all** other causes.
 * 8) People with this disorder(anorexia) see themselves as fat even when they are extremely thin and become obsessed with food and dieting.
 * 9) Heart failure or kidney failure from dehydration are the most common fatal complications of anorexia.
 * 10) Schools are trying to respond by focusing more attention on the weight issue. Soda machines are being taken out, school lunches are being scrutinized, and exercise programs are being developed to help students become fit.
 * 11) Because of the compensatory purging that accompanies binging, bulimics usually are of normal weight but like anorexics, tend to be preoccupied with weight and very dissatisfied with their bodies.
 * 12) Individuals lack a sense of identity and are trying to manufacture themselves into a socially approved exterior.
 * 13) Cultural pressures to obtain the perfect body, narrow definitions of beauty that include only thin men and women, and cultural norms that value people on the basis of physical appearance rather than their inner qualities.
 * 14) However by educating our youth about eating disorders and encouraging them to view media in a critical manner, we can help them to avoid many of the pitfalls
 * 15) Developing a value system based on internal values, instead of weight and appearance, is also essential in the prevention of eating disorders.