The Influence of the Media on Eating Disorders Complications that accompany body image have long been a problem in society. Body image is an individual's sense of how they view their body in comparison to others in society, or what is considered the ideal body image. There are many different factors that influence body image, but the biggest influence is the media. The media has long been associated with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which an individual participates in self-starvation, while bulimia is an eating disorder in which an individual eats as much as they want and then purges the previously eaten food. These are two destructive eating disorders associated with negative body image. This leads to the question: Does the media have an influence on creating a negative body image, which can inherently lead to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia? Anorexia nervosa and bulimia affect various age groups but are extremely common in adolescence and emerging adulthood. During this stage of an individual's life many things happen with psychological and physical development. The way a teenager views their body image is greatly influenced by how the media portrays what the ideal body image is. According to Berger (2015), “as you might expect from a developmental perspective, healthy eating begins with childhood habits and family routines” (p.415). If good eating habits are not implemented, negative body image and media-associated eating disorders become further prevalent in adolescence and emerging adulthood. article…significant enough to show that the media does not play a role in influencing eating disorders. Since the link between media and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia has been established, the next step for society is to figure out how to prevent such harmful influences from the media. Works CitedBecker, A. E. (2004). Television, disordered eating, and young women in Fiji: Negotiating body image and identity during rapid social change. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 28(4), 533-59. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11013-004-1067-5Berger, K. (2015). The developing person: Across the lifespan (9th ed.). New York, NY: Worth. Derenne, J. L., & Beresin, E. V. (2006). Body image, media and eating disorders. Academic Psychiatry, 30(3), 257-61. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.waketech.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/196508089?accountid=15152