Persuasive speech "thin" -Michael Dickson

Thin by: Michael Dickson

            What is the difference between these two men? Weight, obviously. When you look at this pair most, if not all, of you will obviously see that the man on your left has unhealthy eating habits that are affecting his health. So why is the other man here? A lot of you would probably assume that the purpose of putting his picture here is to provide an example of a healthy lifestyle to use as a comparison. You would be very wrong.

            America is experiencing an “obesity epidemic.” Children, teens, and adults everywhere are overweight, which does pose several serious health concerns. News about it is everywhere. Everyone is talking about it, how to live healthier, how to stay active, [pause] how to lose weight. But what about the other epidemic? What about the one no one hears about? The other, much scarier, much more dangerous epidemic. The one that the news won’t even mention because the word itself scares people. “Anorexia.” It goes unnoticed, because in this day and age, it’s normal to care about your weight. Who cares if a teen is working out a lot? Who cares if a teen is eating less? Who cares if a teen is forcing things out of their body to maintain a figure? Because “thin” is in. Isn’t it?

            Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are horrifying, and crippling. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by distorted body image, excessive exercise routines, strict rules typically pertaining towards eating, all because of an extreme fear of gaining weight. Bulimia Nervosa is similar although very different. Bulimia is most characteristic for its binge/purge cycle in which someone eats a large amount of food, then “purges” it from their body through laxatives or self-induced vomiting.

What kind of person would force themselves through this? Unfortunately the most affected are teens, and even elementary-age children. But here is one of the largest misconceptions about Anorexia and Bulimia. Most people assume that only girls can be anorexic or bulimic. Boys don’t care about their weight. That is very wrong. Over one-half of teenage girls and one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy behaviors to control their weight. Yes, boys can be anorexic. There is a lot of pressure on girls to be thin, but there is just as much on boys to be slim, muscular, with a wide chest and a thin waist. And these expectations are no easier for boys to meet than the expectations that girls wear a size triple zero and have an hourglass figure. The scariest part is that there are almost no statistics on anorexia in boys. The reason for this is that we are told that there’s nothing wrong with us, that we “look like we’ve been working out.” We get complimented and even congratulated for every pound we lose, and that just fuels the fire. There are little to no support groups for anorexic or bulimic boys, and the ones that do exist are typically co-ed, boys and girls. So most boys don’t ever admit they have a problem. We keep losing weight until our bodies start using their own muscles and tissues as energy, our kidneys give out, and our bones fade away. All the while being haunted by the fear that drinking that one soda will put all the weight back on. The mortality rate of Anorexia and Bulimia is higher than any other psychiatric illness.

But what can we do? We can tell people! We can get people to care! People work to fix what they know about. Alzheimer’s disease averages about $88 of research funds per affected individual, eating disorders average about $0.93 per affected individual. 5.1 million people are affected by Alzheimer’s disease, almost 30 million are affected with an eating disorder. Do you see the problem there? I don’t expect anyone to go out and campaign for a change or anything huge like that. I would like to ask, no, beg you: don’t ignore it.  Help recognize that there is no “right” body shape or size, and the best way to do it is to start small. Accept your own body. Treat it with the dignity and respect it deserves, and once you’ve done that, help other people see that about their body. Hopefully, one day, anorexia and bulimia will only be heard about in history books, and no one will care if someone looks “thin.”

Works cited

America the Beautiful. Dir. Darryl Roberts. N.d. DVD.

"Males and Eating Disorders | National Eating Disorders Association." Males and Eating Disorders

National Eating Disorders Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

"Prevalence vs. Funding." Get The Facts On Eating Disorders. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.