#essay3idea

If we can't understand how disordered eating alters an individual's mentality, then we can't understand how simple body-consciousness or diets become eating disorders. If we can't understand how these body or weight issues become eating disorders, then we can't comprehend how to reduce body-consciousness in adolescence to middle adulthood or how to change the idea that individuals with eating disorders are "attention-seekers." 

Growing up in what seemed to be the body conscious capital of the country, Southern California, exposed me to a constant badgering of imperfection complaints. My family regularly spoke about weight, my friends complained daily about their auto-unhappiness, and, of course, the media always pictured perfection as a tall, thin, slightly fit model or actress. But what if we're not all the "toned, tan, fit" California Girls that Snoop Dog spoke of? This is where my interest of body consciousness stems from. How did our society develop an notion of beauty based on weight and how did everyone become so absorbed in the idea of becoming thin? Most people in early to late adulthood can relate to this idea, because it seems as though everyone has a friend who is constantly on a diet or trying to alter their body. Sure individuals can easily identify something they dislike about themselves, but at some point these weight related unhappiness issues become extreme. This sparks interest: how does a diet obsession become an eating disorder and how will will we know the difference? Readers will travel on a journey as I attempt to answer this question. I'm also attempting to surpass the stereotypes of disordered individuals as "attention-seekers"-a response I received when I asked a number of my peers what they thought about individuals with eating disorders. Readers will learn to think "How can I prevent weight obsession in the people I interact with?" rather than scoffing or pitying.