Anorexia Research Gets £2m Boost

[Snowbaby]

More anorexics could get help as part of a £2 million government-funded research project.

Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry aim to use the money to devise ways of spotting and treating victims before the disease takes hold.

Health minister Rosie Winterton said the research would help combat the impact of young girls wanting to be "size zero" models.

Experts argue that less than 10% of eating disorder sufferers receive help.

Source

 

[Dark Magician Girl]

Oh please give me a break, two million dollars to solve anorexia? Solution ban the stupid stick models/actors so they cannot model/work until they are a healthy weight or until their body mass is higher than 18.23 "BMI". That is the entertainment world for you, they give our generations a "perception of perfection" that is going to take a toll on our society. Instead of banning size 0 out right they want to spend money on research? *eye twitches* Please forgive me if I am tromping on touchy ground, but until they actually promote healthy women there is going to be this "Ideal" that no one can reach without starving ones self. Three models have already died from being under weight, anorexia is a eating disorder correct, however, it is also created in the human mind. The mind receives messages from all our organs, and when hungry it sends a message to us saying hello I am hungry. I wonder if this signal is somehow disrupted in anorexics.

 

[Snowbaby]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Immortality @ Apr 10 2007, 01:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Oh please give me a break, two million dollars to solve anorexia?

I think this is a little harsh a statement. The article says research not solution.

Having said that, I totally agree with you on the size 0 issue, and underweight models. They are far to influential on the young of today's society

[/b]

 

[merisplit]

Still, I don't think we can blame it all on the fashion industry - I mean, I blame them for promoting such appearance, obviously, those models look like zombies, not normal healthy women, and of course, it has to stop as soon as possible, but - I don't really get the youth that's willing to follow their looks..I think that part of the fault also goes to home upbringing and to educational institutions.

Also, I can't help noticing the extreme contrasts in this world - while there are people who are actually starving cause they have nothing to eat, on the other side we have problems with obesity and even with people who are deliberately starving themselves in order to look like zombi models...

 

[opalflower]

I think anorexia was around before the size 0 models of today and I think Mary is right we shouldn't blame it just on the fashion industry although they may help with image etc. Sometimes it can be a deep rooted psycological problem. It is an illness and therefore should be investigated, this is a positive movement in the right direction.

 

[merisplit]

Yeah, I definetely think it's a pshycological problem(I actually think that's already a fact, don't hold it against me if I'm wrong), lack of self esteem, or even a form of self punishment or something..
I really can't estimate if two million dollars are too much or just right for this kind of research.

 

[lottie9394]

anorexia has gone way to far because in school there must be about 9 anorexias and im 9st and the biggest girl in my class and i get called fat cause im not size 6 or watever

 

[Dark Magician Girl]

I have one statement to give, the fashion industry is promoting in all the magazines, on television and the actors that are going size 0 are promoting that the size 0 is the new sheek way to look (aka starve yourself, and see if you can reach our perception of perfection without killing yourself). The entertainment world has a big influence on our society, and I think for promoting such things they also need to take responsibility for what their actions have created. They have started banning the size zero in some countries, however, that isn't going to last very long. Back when John F Kennedy was president women like Marilyn Monroe were considered beautiful, she had a natural hourglass figure and her BMI was proportionate to her weight, now days our younger generation are looking up to stick people which are barely alive and yet the entertainment industry is making them glamorous, and putting them up on a pedestal. One example would be Tyra Banks, the fashion industry is making a huge deal about her gaining 30 pounds, once she was the most beautiful Victoria Secret model now she is being called fat in the magazines, and if you don't think this doesn't have any mental impact on today's generation you are wrong. Tyra in her latest issue is publicly stating that you can be a healthy weight and be beautiful and sexy, which is an obvious contradiction from what the fashion industry promotes.

 

[merisplit]

Noone here is saying that they don't have a big influence, but I believe that a normal, well raised, intelligent human being can not fall for that one.
Besides, I don't think that it really is that way in the entire entertainment industry, cause there are a lot of actresses and others for example that are not only skin&bones, and are still found beautiful - starting from Scarlett Johanssen to Jennifer Lopez, Eva Mendes, Beyonce..and other actresses like Penelope Cruz, Halle Berry, Uma Thurman and Sharon Stone, aren't that "round" like these above, but definetely can not be considered as those without feminine curves.
Only models are those that are that skinny. I don't know who started that trend, cause when I was a child, a teen, they weren't that way - Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford..they never looked like skeletons...and I really don't know anyone who finds that beautiful, that's why I do believe it's a psychological illness of some kind, or even it's consequence, and that really needs treatment.