Excessive Diet Leads to Anorexia > 영어토론방

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When Madrid fashion week announced last month that it would not hire models who are too skinny, many people said the fashion industry has finally realized the effect that heavy dieting was having on the world. However, many women in Korea don’t seem to care much about the increasing number of voices that are labeling curvy women as healthy and beautiful. Last week, actress Kim Ok-bin confessed at a press conference that she ate a meal a day while shooting the TV drama "Over the Rainbow."

The 21-year-old beauty icon’s confession frightened many people. Netizens have pasted related articles to their blogs and online communities reminded themselves that losing weight can be extraordinarily difficult, even for the beautiful young actress.

"I think being fat is a sin," said a 24-year-old university student who refused to give her name. ``We all know that a slim body shape looks best, and that people are aware of the fact but fail to control their eating habits. That is bad, you know?’’ She said she might not go on an extreme diet, but she firmly believes that keeping herself slim is the right thing to do.

The size 44 craze swept the country a few months ago, and the media was in a frenzy about this new trend, which was welcomed by the fashion industry as well as by diet-related companies. Women who were attracted by the concept of starving to be skinny have made posts dominating many Web pages.

If you type the word ``anorexia,’’ into the search engine Daum, you will be amazed that ``How to get anorexic,’’ pops up as a frequently searched-for entry. In online communities, people crave being skinny like Kate Moss or Kim Min-hee, an actress famous for her diminutive size. ``Skinny looks well-dressed, and they look better in all kinds of clothes,’’ a Kangnam-based fashion designer admitted, adding that she hires skinny models and that she has tried every way to maintain her lean figure.

"Actually, I was a bit stressed when I read that article," Lee Eun-young, a 27-year-old art instructor, said. "I think I understand people with anorexia. If I cannot lose weight by eating less, I might as well think about not eating at some point." Lee confessed that she tried to skip meals but failed because of her active appetite.

Anorexia is not a widely accepted disease in Korea. Many women try to skip meals for beauty, and staying thin is a silent virtue. However, the National Health Insurance Corporation reported that the number of teenagers under treatment for eating disorders has risen dramatically in recent years. ``There aren’t many people coming because they do not eat food,’’ Dr. Bae Kyung-do of the Yeol-lin Neuropsychiatric Clinic said.

An estimated 1 to 2 percent of the population is suffering from serious or light anorexia, but there aren’t many people accepting the fact seriously, he said. Bae said people suffering from anorexia feel no need to eat because their nervous systems do not properly carrying signals from their brains. These days, however, women with negative perceptions of their bodies suffer from this disease, he said. Bae explained that when people suffering from anorexia look in the mirror, they see themselves as overweight. The patients are treated with pharmaceutical, mental and physical therapies, but it is not easy to get over the disease. ``Sometimes people come and get treatment, but once they go back into their normal lives and see other boney girls, they simply begin again,’’ he said.

He said that the media and the whole society needed to change their view on beauty. ``That is the only way possible, though it is hardly likely to be realized,’’ he said. Girls with the fantasy of being extra skinny should be aware that eating disorders can have serious side effects, such as an early onset of menopause, hair loss and dry skin, as well as a weakened immune system and depression.

Question
1. Have you ever went on a diet? Why did you go on a diet? Tell us some diet method.
2. What do you think about slim people? Are you satisfied on yourself?
3. Does Slim and Beauty mean equal? What is the real Beauty?
4. From your body, tell us three parts that you like.

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