The influences of the media as a factor in the increase in eating
             disorders among young women have become an increasingly pervasive problem
             throughput the world. Many professionals and researchers place a large part
             of the blame of this increase on the influence of the media and advertising
             in the Information Age. "The consensus among medical professionals,
             researchers, and lay people alike is clear: Regarding our children's body
             image, something has gone wrong". (Harrison)
             The ubiquitous image of the super-thin model and the svelte modern
             female has almost certainly had an effect on the body image of young women.
             The fact that the media has had a profound affect on the increase of
             eating disorders among teenagers is largely unquestioned; however,
             academics and researchers are not all unambiguous in their estimation of
             the precise affect the media has on eating disorders.
            
             Main eating disorders
            
             The two main eating disorders, which are associated with the
             attainment of thinness and body image, are anorexia nervosa and bulimia
             nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is "characterized by the refusal to eat enough
             food to maintain body weight over a minimal norm for age and height, an
             intense fear of gaining weight, body image disturbances, and possible
             amenorrhea or temporary cessation of menstruation ". (ibid) Bulimia
             nervosa on the other hand is characterized by "a pattern of binging (eating
             large quantities of food over short periods of time, which is followed by
             attempts to compensate for this excessive caloric intake by inducing
             vomiting, using laxatives, severe restrictive dieting or fasting, or over
             exercising (American Psychiatric Association, 1994)". (ibid)
            
             Extent of eating disorders
            
             An important aspect that is evident from research carried out on
             these two central eating disord...