By Ariana West

Messenger Staff Writer

Girls see magazines with skinny, starving, photo shopped models and think that’s what they should look like. Body image seems to be a hot topic for teenagers nowadays. There seems to be so much pressure on young girls to always look pretty and always be “in shape.” This constant pressure is all around us.

But what exactly is an eating disorder? An eating disorder is any range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits. The three main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.

“I think guys put a lot of pressure on girls to be skinny and that’s really messed up.” says Jake Scott.

Sometimes this pressure gets too intense and girls will actually starve themselves, or puke themselves to try and lose weight to become skinnier and to look like that model on television. In reality, that model is most likely photo shopped and isn’t a realistic image of what any teen girl should try to look like.

This pressure to look skinny is probably the worst in Hollywood. Many celebrities have been criticized by people because they aren’t skinny enough or they’re too curvy. Being in the spotlight too much can cause celebrities to become obsessed with their body image. Eating disorders are very common in Hollywood and can be very hard to overcome so most people seek help by going to a treatment center.

“Yes, I’ve had an eating disorder. It wasn’t worth it at all. Don’t try and starve yourself because you’re perfect and beautiful just the way you are and just because you’re not a size two doesn’t make you fat.” says freshman Sydney Burlison. Burlison wants girls to know that it shouldn’t matter what anyone says or thinks about your body, if you’re happy in your own skin then no one else’s opinion matters.

“I think a lot of girls do it for the attention and to get guys to look at them more, but actually most guys like curves and girls who aren’t just skin and bones. So stop starving yourselves girls it’s not cute.” says Paloma Acquistapace.

There’s an actual hotline for kids who want to starve themselves or for kids who have an eating disorder. It’s called the National Eating Disorders Association Hotline. So if you ever are feeling like you need to lose some weight and want to puke yourself call (800)-(931)-(2237).

God made you the way you are for a reason and it’s not okay for you to try and change that. Eating right and working out is very healthy but puking yourself and starving yourself is not.