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Bubbling Under
English is a language on the move, with many hundreds of new words and
phrases coming into existence every year. Although these are picked up by
Oxford's worldwide monitoring programme, many of these coinages have only
a fleeting lifespan and may never appear in the dictionary. This monthly
feature takes a look at some of the most recent and interesting words,
phrases, and other language changes which have caught our eye and which
could be vying for a place in one of our future dictionaries.
Fat chance of escaping the food controversy
The debate about healthy eating and body weight has been cooking up a
storm over the past few weeks. From reports of 'stick-thin' models being
banned from certain fashion shows if their BMI (body mass index)
falls below a certain figure, to accounts of 'junk-food mums' passing
burgers through school railings to their offspring at lunchtime, we're
being bombarded with advice, contradictory opinions, and often downright
moralizing from so-called food fascists.
At one end of the scale there's concern over an obesity epidemic,
with around 55% of women and 65% of men in the UK being classed as either
overweight or obese. Obesity is causing a rise in other medical conditions
too: diabesity (a blend of the words diabetes and obesity)
describes diabetes that's caused by being excessively overweight.
To combat the advance of globesity (global obesity), it's been
proposed that a fat tax on junk food should be introduced: in the
US such a measure has been referred to as a Twinkie tax (TwinkiesTM
are finger-shaped sponge cakes with a cream filling, though why they
should be singled out for special opprobrium is unclear).
At the other extreme, skinny models and other celebrities are said to
provide thinspiration to young women who aspire to be ultra-thin –
slender enough to fit into size 00 clothes. Such thinspirational
role models are typically pictured on pro-ana and pro-mia
websites, which extol the 'virtues' of the eating disorders anorexia and
bulimia.
Ironically, the word anorexia (which comes from the Greek words
an- 'without' and orexis 'appetite') is also experiencing
its own form of expansion: the suffix -rexia or -orexia is
being used to generate a glut of new words, including:
bleachorexia: an obsession with whitening the teeth
vitarexia: vitamin deficiency
tanorexia: an obsession with maintaining a year-round suntan,
especially by using sunbeds
weborexia: collective term for websites that promote anorexia and
other eating disorders
yogarexia: an obsession with practising yoga to become or stay slim
manorexia: the 'male version' of anorexia (since anorexia is
typically regarded as a 'female' disorder, even though it affects people
of both sexes)
bigorexia: (also known as muscle dysmorphia) people with this
disorder believe that they are puny (even though they are very muscular)
and exercise compulsively to increase muscle bulk.
permarexia: an addiction to faddy slimming
diets
brideorexia: referring to brides-to-be who crash-diet before the
wedding so as to look good in the photos
If we're not chewing the fat about this weighty issue long into the
foreseeable future, I'll eat my hat.
Author: Catherine Soanes
Date: 01/02/2006
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Former 90210 Star Visits 11549
in
News
Gabrielle Carteris, former star of "Beverly Hills 90210," addressed
University students on the dangers of eating disorders.
Carteris was this week's First-Year FOCUS speaker in place of Tracey Gold who
could not attend the event for "personal reasons."
The presentation began with Carteris having students draw what they thought
their bodies looked like and she then traced their bodies on the same piece of
paper.
Carteris said this exercise was originally done with 9-year-olds to show the way
people perceive theirselves begins from a very young age. She said that, on
average, people draw themselves four to five inches bigger than they actually
are. Almost everyone on stage lived up to this average.
Carteris, who struggled with permarexia, the state of always being on a diet,
said she began dieting because she associated beauty with thinness and felt the
pressure of being beautiful from her mother.
"Statistics say 86 percent of people with eating disorders are under 20 and 10
percent of people with eating disorders are men," Carteris said. "But I assert
that it's more because those numbers are just based on anorexia and bulimia and
with guys there's a lot of shame connected to it."
Carteris showed covers of 10 popular magazines and every one of them had
something about dieting on it. She impressed upon us how much time and money are
spent on airbrushing.
"Guys, don't you agree, you're looking for real women, not Jennifer [Aniston]
and we're not looking to date Brad Pitt, we want normal guy," she said. "I love
my husband and he's no Brad and he loves me and I'm no Jennifer," she said.
She concluded the program with reminding everyone to celebrate their bodies.
After the success of last year's Freshman FOCUS program, the Dean of Students
Office is sponsoring this semester's First-Year FOCUS program. The First-Year
Program is five weeks long and hosts speakers who talk on a variety of issues.
The first program was titled "Character: The Ultimate Survivor Tool" and
featured Ethan Zohn, the winner of "Survivor Africa." His spoke about his
experience on the show and the importance of character and how it affects an
individual's decisions.
"Better Grades in Less Time" was last week's program, which focused on study
skills, including strategies and techniques.
We designed the program with new students in mind. We know they're going to
betting the academic information they need and we want to also make sure they
get the social balance," Lynda O'Malley, the associate dean of students, said.
"But all of our programs are open to everyone. There were many upperclassmen at
the study skills program."
Last night's program featured Gabrielle Carteris in "Dying to Be Thin." Carteris
who was one of the stars of "Beverly Hills 90210" spoke about her battle with
permarexia, a widely unknown and misunderstood disorder.
www.healthcrafts.co.uk
Are you perplexed about the best diet?
When in doubt, take out nutritional health insurance…
Worried about what’s good to eat? It’s not surprising – with a myriad of reports
on health dangers combined with today’s fast paced lifestyle, more and more
people are finding themselves on a health see-saw . As a result, Doctors are
diagnosing a new range of destructive conditions from fad diet obsession
‘permarexia’ , to healthy eating obsession 'orthorexia’ . Even those who try to
eat a balanced diet may unknowingly be on a restricted or deficient diet, as the
nutritional value of foods has decreased considerably in recent years due to
changes in farming techniques, decreased soil quality and long term storage of
food before it finally gets to our plates.
Society’s ever changing eating
habits has meant that Healthcrafts vitamin, mineral and herbal supplement range
has frequently had to move with the times over the last fifty years since the
brand was established. Today’s range is designed to provide ‘health insurance’
to those who skimp on their food, or a ‘safety net’ for those who want to make
sure they get all the vitamins and minerals and other nutrients they need.
Nutritionist Helena Hall says, “Today’s busy and demanding lifestyle’s may mean
that it is not always easy to eat a balanced and varied diet. A health
department survey recently found that the average person in the UK consumes less
than 3 daily portions of fruit and vegetables instead of the recommended 5. This
is where supplements could help to meet any shortfall, to ensure your body
receives the nutrients it needs. Healthcrafts range of over 30 different
supplements has been developed in accordance with the latest research providing
nutrients at safe and effective levels to suit all lifestyles”.
Healthcrafts supplements are sold through major supermarkets, chemists and
health food stores. For further information visit
www.healthcrafts.co.uk
Helping you stay at your best. Naturally!
permaexia.com 2006