The critical approach primary objective is to shed the light on seemingly natural authority and to study biomedicine as a culturally constructed system. It is how society uses political economy in health. It focuses on biomedicine as well as culture history. The critical approach also focuses on social inequalities and its effects on health, for example gender, attractiveness, social status and more. Bulimia nervosa can be tied to social, political and economic issues. In today’s society it is not accepted if you are overweight because if you are, you are viewed as unattractive. It is socially acceptable if you are thin and in shape. You see these examples in everyday life. Whether it is a television commercial about weight loss and diet pills, magazines by the checkout with workout routines on them, celebrities and their crazy diet to weight loss, or the sizes of the people that are being advertised daily to the world, the thin person is always uplifted in today’s society. You could also view social factors as being a reason someone has become bulimic by certain changes in their life. For example ones environment and the people you are surrounded by. If you are put into an environment where everyone is thin and people talk about you because you aren’t, you are going to want to change and fast. Below is a documentary about two sisters one who is anorexic and the other is bulimic. This video begins with one of the girls saying that she always compares herself to “the perfect models, they are so thin and their bones show they have perfect lives, perfect looks and everything”. The two girls had a social traumatizing event that happened in their life that led them to having eating disorders. Being bulimic has caused one of the girls to faint and she needed to be rushed to the emergency room. Bulimia and anorexia both have negative effects on your body and you may not realize it until something bad happens.
Being bulimic is also tied to economics. You could turn to bulimia nervosa because you cannot afford to lose weight the healthy way by purchasing a membership to a gym or even affording certain foods. Maybe it is because of your economic status that is making you depressed and you turn to bulimia to make you feel better. On the other hand if you have someone who is suffering from bulimia nervosa and they need professional help what if they do not have insurance or enough money to gain the correct help. Here is a link that leads to a young lady with an eating disorder that had a hard time receiving money from her insurance to receive the correct help she needed to overcome bulimia nervosa and the issues had to be politically solved. Bulimia nervosa is looked at as a mental condition and the law states insurance companies must provide mental health benefits.
80 percent of the people affected by bulimia nervosa are females. I believe this illness mainly affects women because they have so much pressure on them to look attractive. Looking attractive for women is to be in shape and thin, you are looked down upon if you are not. So many thin females are advertised daily and it is up to you to look just like them. No matter whom you are, society wants you to be thin. That shows you how most American’s think, you cannot be beautiful unless you are thin. It is hard to be thin in today’s society unless you have really good discipline to go on a diet. In America, fast food is advertised often and you do not have to travel far to get a hold of it, when you go out to eat at restaurants they give you huge proportions and you always want to finish your plate. So what happens if you eat too much, go purge so you won’t gain that weight. It is your responsibility to be thin and healthy and if you cannot keep up with that you are looked down upon especially in the modeling world. If you want to become a successful model you must be thin, if you are over a certain weight you are being viewed as a plus size model and imagine how that can affect someone’s self-esteem.
"Anorexia/Bulimia Nervosa Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_buE8bF0mmI
"Victory for Care and Coverage for Eating Disorders! | National Eating Disorders Association." Victory for Care and Coverage for Eating Disorders! | National Eating Disorders Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014.
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/victory-care-and-coverage-eating-disorders
"Bulimia Nervosa | National Eating Disorders Association." Bulimia Nervosa | National Eating Disorders Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014.
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/bulimia-nervosa
"Anorexia/Bulimia Nervosa Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_buE8bF0mmI
"Victory for Care and Coverage for Eating Disorders! | National Eating Disorders Association." Victory for Care and Coverage for Eating Disorders! | National Eating Disorders Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014.
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/victory-care-and-coverage-eating-disorders
"Bulimia Nervosa | National Eating Disorders Association." Bulimia Nervosa | National Eating Disorders Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2014.
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/bulimia-nervosa