Look at yourself in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Most of us have come to appreciate ourselves for who we are. While others struggle to achieve the perfect body. They strive to be what is depicted in fashion magazines and movies. The endless obsession with being the perfect size zero. This can inevitably lead to eating disorders. Eating disorders can give a person an unhealthy image of themselves and food is the enemy. In a national survey conducted at Mclean Hospital in Massachusetts, it was estimated that more than 9 million people suffer from eating disorders. They may suffer from anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder. A study conducted by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders indicates that most of these illnesses begin before the age of twenty. Another growing problem in the United States is obesity. More than 60 million Americans suffer from the condition, according to the American Obesity Association (Shot of Opposing Views: Eating Disorders 2010). Anorexia is a psychiatric disorder that most often affects young women. Those who suffer from anorexia fear gaining weight and have an inaccurate representation of their own body. They consider themselves fat, even though they are already thin to begin with. They are willing to take extreme measures to lose weight, but the only result is extremely unhealthy weight. To achieve the weight they want, they will either starve themselves or exercise excessively. Anorexia is a serious and potentially fatal illness. This can lead to death from starvation, heart failure, or electrolyte imbalance. The first step in helping someone with anorexia is to diagnose the physical characteristics attributed to the illness...... middle of article ......tp://www.nlm.nih.gov/ medlineplus/enBuckroyd, J. (1996). Anorexia and bulimia: answers to your questions. Shaftesbury, Dorset: Elements. Bulimia nervosa. (nd). University of Maryland Medical Center Web. October 25, 2015.http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/bulimia-nervosa-000020.htmBulimia - PubMed Health. (nd). National Center for Biotechnology Information. Internet. October 23, 2015. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0Eating Disorders. " Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. October 20. 2015. “Obesity”. Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context, October 21, 2015. Smith, M., Barston, S., Segal, R. and Segal, J. (2009). Web Help Guide, October 24, 2015. http://helpguide.org/mental. /binge_eating_disorder.htm.