<p>The background of the study consists of the fact that knowledge about how eating disorders are developed and maintained is extensive. Socio-cultural factors and media influence when developing an eating disorder is of significance. When reviewing literature and previous research, knowledge about practical attainments when treating eating disorders are insufficient. The aim of the study was therefore to examine how staff who treats eating disordered patients think about body ideals, strive for success and media influence in treatment and rehabilitation. The theory consists of Foucault’s theory of power, how beauty ideals are dependent of the cultural context in which we live and what qualities are associated with beauty and body ideals. Also why young people are more vulnerable to ideals and Giddens theory of how our identities are formed and the meaning of the body and effects of lack of tradition. The theory is rounded off by how we manipulate our bodies, how the consumer society affects how we express our identities and shortly about treatment of eating disorders. I found that the majority of staff interviewed was aware of the influence of high demands, pressure and strive for perfection. It corresponds with that the cultural message include the body as a project that the individual has the responsibility of changing and improving. An eating disorder can also be a way of controlling physical change during puberty. The majority were also aware of the influence of dieting, socio-cultural effects, ideals and fixation with one’s own body. In combination with self-criticism and increased responsibility of forming one’s identity during adolescence, the individual is increasingly vulnerable to media influences. The individuals’ body image is affected by her own and others image of her body, and how well she matches the society’s ideals and norms. The response to media effects differ between the ones interviewed. The individual compare her self with images shown in the media, which shows a direct connection between slimness and success, status and happiness. Treatment shows an evident connection to normalisation process as a result of psychiatric exercise of power towards the patient.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 311-336). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from title page. Lindsey L. Cohen, committee chair; Lisa Armistead, Erin B. McClure, Mary K. Morris, committee members. Electronic text (113 p. : ill. (some col.)) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Oct. 11, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-80).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 253-273).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-59). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11925

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2006. / "December, 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-76). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2007. / Title from screen (viewed on June 11, 2007) Department of Sociology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-72)

Thesis (M.S.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1996. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2891. Typescript. Abstract precedes second title page as preliminary pages 2-3. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 28-31).

Schools are rich and intense social environments where young people constantly interact with one another, negotiate social relationships and construct their identities. The school context also influences how young people experience and relate to their bodies. Physical education can be especially influential here – an environment where young people learn about the body and through the body within a highly visible setting. Research has investigated how bodily meanings and power relations are constructed within schools and physical education but these processes are ever evolving. For example, the ingraining of online social interaction within young people’s lives currently adds new dimensions to how young people learn, interact and perceive themselves and their bodies. This thesis presents findings from a year-long ethnographic study located within a Scottish secondary school. Participant observation and qualitative interviews were used to explain the contemporary bodily culture amongst young people and to investigate how engagements with online social spaces were shaping young people’s bodily perceptions and practices. Findings evidenced three overarching tenets of informal pupil culture. These were: the centrality and importance of the body within social life; the omnipresence of online social spaces and online social interaction; and the development of a celebrity-esque culture amongst the pupil population. Accordingly, pupils constructed and negotiated hyper-risky social environments where the body and the self were hyper-visible, hyper-scrutinised and hyper-controlled. Working within a critical realist framework, theoretical insights from Erving Goffman, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu were utilised to suggest that the online environment represented a very important and attractive medium for identity construction where young people had opportunities, and felt pressure, to create idealised images of themselves. Online self-presentation also had offline implications for how pupils behaved, viewed themselves and for how they perceived and treated others. Physical education therefore became an especially risky social space as it was characterised by a lack of control over bodily identity, which juxtaposed sharply with the intense control over self-presentation afforded online. The online realm was also a highly influential context for learning about health and the body and a space where looking ‘healthy’ was very fashionable. Accordingly, this thesis suggests that socially safe and critical environments should be constructed in physical education. The thesis also concludes by arguing that physical education has unique potential to contribute positively to young people’s lives through practical, experiential learning. Physical education can foster and create a refreshing culture, contrasting and challenging superficial dimensions of contemporary bodily culture. It can become a space that diminishes the significance of outward experiences: a space where young people positively experience their bodies and the world around them; where they can reflect and marvel upon such experiences; and learn to respect their own and each other’s bodies in a very intrinsic and deep sense.

Previous studies have shown that overweight and obesity in youth and adolescents is one of the leading risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Besides being "at–risk” for T2DM, the possibility also exists for development of major psychological issues. Thus, overweight adolescents who are "at–risk” for T2DM may have increased levels of emotional eating, and poor self–esteem and body image. The design of this pilot study ("R. U. A Healthy Kid”) was a prospective cohort of 17 free–living middle school students "at–risk” for T2DM. Each participant was previously screened and found to have three or more risk factors for T2DM. The intervention targeted four main topics: Family Meals, Healthy Snacks, Physical Activity and "Unique U” (emotional eating, self–esteem, body image and stress management). The "Unique U” component forms the basis of the current study. After three months in the program, participants’ self–esteem significantly increased since the beginning of the program. Many relationships were found between self–esteem, body image, stress and emotional eating questions. Community– based lifestyle interventions that include issues such as improving self–esteem, body image, stress and emotional eating are critical in helping adolescents who are "at–risk” for T2DM.