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Eating Disorders amongst the Latino Community
Queen Journey
When one speaks about eating disorders one will often picture someone they see on TV or a magazine; however, there are more people with eating disorders and one may not even know it. Amongst the Latino community, there is a problem when it comes to eating disorders. Although one may expect to read about anorexia or bulimia, it is in fact another reason as to why so many Latinos are suffering from long term health problems and it is due to the eating disorder known as overeating. Overeating, binge eating, or also known as compulsive eating is an eating disorder that is currently plaguing many Latinos, yet one fails to recognize that this is even a possibility why people are suffering from health problem such as diabetes and heart disease. In fact Compulsive eaters are people whose hands or minds move toward food when they are not at all hungry. Also, compulsive eating is not focused on one race or ethnicity in fact it has nothing to do with the size of ones body. Fact is compulsive eaters come in all shapes and sizes; the compulsive eating has to do with how many hours spent preoccupied with thoughts about what one is eating and what one looks like. Although it may seem self-destructive, many compulsive eaters attempt at self-help; thus creating the mass amounts of dangerous narcissistic attempts to achieve an ideal look, and the increase of eating disorders. Currently Latino minorities are predominant for binge eating, and when time is spent in the U.S. it could further the increase of this incidence. In fact the rates found that binge eating was as much as what you find in anorexia. The investigators on the project said, �There was a lot of literature from people suggesting that certain variables played a role in certain Latino community samples, but not a lot had been done on the different Latino groups.� The �huge endeavor,� described the mass efforts to collect as much data the investigators could. They in fact subcontracted the actual collection through the University of Michigan as well as the U.S. census. They found areas where Latino populations tended to congregate; they used a �random national probability sample� to begin screening people. This study examined 1,127 males and 1,447 females and four million dollars later the results were that binge eating is a health risk and the study was definitely important to uncover seriousness of the eating disorder. It was said �People lose control in terms of their food intake and eat beyond when they�re satisfied and full.� Although the researchers did not specify work habits as a variable in the study, they believe that the typical Latino lifestyle could explain this disparity in eating disorders. �In a lot of the jobs these people are in, they have difficulty eating at the end of the day when they are exhausted so they tend to eat a lot at once.� The study showed that eating disorders tended to increase with the length of time the participants had lived in the United States. They believed this was due to different diets and work flows, a co investigator saw another possible reason. �In the U.S., cultural factors like beauty may affect the prevalence of eating disorders, there is a correlation between frequency of the disorder and English proficiency,� Whatever the cause the investigators look forward that the study can increase awareness regarding eating disorders.
Now although research does indicate that �binge eating� is the disorder that is predominant towards Latinos; Latina girls, along with Caucasian girls, are the two highest groups to experience eating disorders according to a 2005 research study titled Eating disorder and depressive symptoms in urban high school girls from different ethnic backgrounds. The amount of research on eating disorders directly affecting Latinos in fact range from Anorexia to Compulsive Eating, but the biggest point of it all is that it is a very real problem that affect so many Latinos. Throughout the research, there was in fact a critical common equation amongst the data; that those who suffered from eating disorder were in the US, and that the people were attempting to appear what they saw in the media. Will there be an investigation regarding the common equation uncovered? Who is to say? However, one thing is for sure, the expectations that one sees is truly what triggers the eating disorders.
The infinite amount of resources to identify an eating disorder ranges from www.NEDA.com, or www.nationaleatingdisorder.org or a local eating disorder counselor but most important talk to family or friends because they tend to be the best support one could have, and they help the person who wants to help themselves.
Almighty Queen Journey