| Peer pressure occurs when a group of people | | | | self-worth, guilt and unattractiveness may |
| or just one person can make an individual | | | | develop that may prompt the individual to |
| feel uncomfortable, leading them to make | | | | diet in order to please the people around |
| decisions that they may not otherwise decide | | | | them, as well as themselves. |
| to make if they did not have influences in | | | | |
| their life. This can affect the way a person | | | | 2) Depression |
| thinks, dresses, looks, speaks or eats. The | | | | |
| person who gives in and decides to change | | | | Peer pressure to diet and make drastic |
| their lifestyle usually feels that they must | | | | lifestyle changes, a person may feel |
| conform to other attitudes or behaviors to | | | | depressed because of their failed attempts to |
| feel part of the norm. | | | | lose weight or that they are not up to the |
| | | | standards of those they are surrounded by. |
| When peer pressure involves the way a person | | | | |
| eats, this can result in drastic | | | | 3) Anorexia |
| consequences. When a person feels an intense | | | | |
| urge to change their eating habits to fit it, | | | | Anorexia nervosa deals with the strong fear |
| they may develop habits that can turn a | | | | of being or becoming fat. People who practice |
| healthy body into a poor bill of health. This | | | | this lifestyle wish to maintain an emaciated |
| is seen when individuals attempt to diet in | | | | body weight. There are about 50% of anorexia |
| order to fit into an image that they have | | | | nervosa patients who engage in self-induced |
| dubbed as ideal. Many people associate peer | | | | vomiting and/or the abuse of laxatives. |
| pressure with teens, but adults often face | | | | |
| the same obstacles when they come face to | | | | 4) Bulimia |
| face with weight issues brought on upon their | | | | |
| peers. | | | | When a person suffers from bulimia nervosa, |
| | | | they participate in reoccurring cycles of |
| Peer pressure not only comes from family and | | | | binge-eating. After binge-eating, they engage |
| friends, but can come in the form of other | | | | in some form of purging, which includes such |
| outside influences. For example, today's | | | | methods as vomiting, abusing laxatives and/or |
| society pushes for a thinner world. People | | | | abusing diuretics. This is their attempt to |
| cannot escape the "in-their-face" reminders | | | | prevent weight gain. |
| of how attractive a thinner image appears to | | | | |
| others. This is prominent every time you open | | | | 5) Poor Body Image |
| up a magazine, revealing the latest models or | | | | |
| watching your favorite sitcom and spotting | | | | If a person is feeling peer pressure to diet, |
| the "hottest" television star. | | | | whether or not they are of healthy or |
| | | | unhealthy weight, may develop a poor body |
| Peer Pressure and Dieting Can Lead To | | | | image of them. This can lead to unhealthy |
| | | | practices when they attempt to diet. If |
| 1) Low Self-Esteem | | | | someone keeps hearing over and over again |
| | | | that they need to diet, then they may feel |
| When a person is constantly hearing about | | | | that something is wrong with their image and |
| their weight from family and friends, it may | | | | that what others say is the truth. |
| result in low self-esteem. Feelings of low | | | | |