When the topic of eating disorders (ED), anorexia, bulimia, starvation, purging, or any other form of self-harm is brought into everyday conversation, it is simply treated as nothing out of the ordinary and is simply dismissed as if the topic were about what the President had for lunch that day. At first glance, the average person would probably conclude that the main reason why eating disorders are so notorious in young women today is simply because the media puts so much pressure on these women to be "perfect." Eating disorders are a very important and common factor in our society, it's not something anyone can really avoid. There are many theories about the causes of eating disorders. Although ED doctors and specialists cannot specifically pinpoint the direct underlying cause, there are some characteristics of EDs that can be demonstrated. The causes of eating disorders are simply a mix of biological, psychological, social and cultural factors and the media should not be held responsible as the primary influence on these widespread health disorders. While the media is one factor that could and has contributed to the development of an eating disorder in our youth, it is not even relatively close to one of the major components. Many people have misleading ideas about what anorexia actually is. . As reported in the article “Anorexia Nervosa” on Wikipedia: The term anorexia nervosa was coined in 1873 by Sir William Gull, one of Queen Victoria's personal doctors. The term is of Greek origin: an- (ἀν-, prefix denoting negation) and orexis (ὄρεξις, "appetite"), which therefore means lack of desire to eat. Although the term "anorexia nervosa" literally translates to "neurotic loss of appetite" the trans...... center of card ......p.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting =true&prodId=OVIC&action =e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010128240&mode=view&userGroupName=stjohn&jsid=59f16e7b892031a328b16401ef5adc95>.Kuenhal, Debora. "History of Eating Disorders". Eating Disorder Recovery Center.EDRecover, 1998. Web. February 20, 2012. .Mantell, Ellyn. "Consumed by guilt, I just stopped eating; first anorexic, then bulimic, I always found new ways to punish myself. In the end, I'm whole again." Newsweek. Gale Opposing Views in Context, June 20, 2006. Web. February 20. 2012. .