Question Sheet: Eating Troubles

By Science News Explores

SCIENCE

Before reading:

  1. What is an eating disorder? 

  2. Why might it be unhealthy to be too skinny?

During reading:

  1. What are some of the health consequences of not eating enough? 

  2. How many people in the United States suffer from eating disorders? 

  3. In what ways are anorexia and bulimia similar? In what ways are they

    different? 

  4. When are people most likely to develop an eating disorder? What are some

    reasons for this? 

  5. How did the introduction of television to Fiji change the island nation’s

    culture? What does that tell scientists about eating disorders? See www.asiapac.org.fj/cafepacific/resources/aspac/fiji3831.html

    (Pacific Media Watch). 

  6. How can schools help prevent unhealthy relationships with food?

After reading:

  1. Do you think that kids in your class are obsessed with their weight? Why or

    why not? 

  2. Both anorexia and bulimia end with the term “nervosa.” Where does the term

    “nervosa” come from? What does it mean? What other illnesses might also be in

    the “nervosa” category? See www.answers.com/topic/anorexia-nervosa (Answers.com) and www.pamf.org/teen/life/bodyimage/orthorexia.html (Palo Alto

    Medical Foundation). 

  3. Why are women more likely to suffer eating disorders than men are? See www.4woman.gov/owh/pub/factsheets/eatingdis.htm (U.S.

    Department of Health and Human Services). 

  4. Why are eating disorders studied by psychologists? How is a psychologist

    different from a general doctor or a biologist? 

  5. Why might certain athletes be more likely to suffer from eating disorders

    than those who aren’t athletes? See www.anred.com/ath_intro.html (Anorexia Nervosa and Related

    Eating Disorders).

SOCIAL STUDIES

Where is Fiji? When did it become an independent nation? What is its population? Its land area? See www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/fj.html (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency).

LANGUAGE ARTS

  1. Look in magazines or on television to find two examples of ads or

    commercials that promote an unhealthy body image. How would you change these ads

    so that they don’t make “normal” people feel bad about themselves? 

  2. Write a letter to the principal of your school describing one way in which

    the school could help prevent both obesity and eating disorders.

MATHEMATICS

If you were to pile grapefruit in a pyramid, with one grapefruit in the first layer, four in the second layer (from the top), nine in the third layer, and sixteen in the fourth layer, how many grapefruit would you need to make a pile with 10 layers?