Anorexia is a complex mental disorder in which severe emotional distress is expressed through disordered behavior involving food restriction. Anorexia causes extremely dangerous health problems such as infertility, hair loss, kidney and liver damage, irregular heartbeat and some extreme cases even lead to death (NHS, 2016). It is estimated that over 1.6 million people in the UK are directly affected by eating disorders and a staggering 1 in 250 women will experience anorexia at some point in their lives (Beat Eating Disorders, 2016). A 12-week course of basic specialist hospital treatment on the NHS costs around £25,000 (BBC News, 2003). In 2015 the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, announced £150 million of government funding for young people with eating disorders and a commitment to reducing waiting times for treatment (The Independent, 2015). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia cost the country more than £15 billion a year in 2016, but are still on the rise (The Independent, 2015). The research project that will be carried out will focus on eating disorders, anorexia because the rate of eating disorders in the UK is increasing and continues to increase every year. The most recent data from January 2014 reveals that there was a national increase of 8% in the number of hospital admissions for an eating disorder in the 12 months to October 2013 (Anorexia and Bulimia Care, 2015). Eating disorders have been a growing topic within the media in recent years. It is costing the National Health Service a large sum of money, as mentioned before, the £15 billion figure mentioned previously includes not only treatment but also education of the population, creating awareness to try and reduce the rate of eating disorders in general, causing strain on the National Health Service. and increased pressure to fight anorexia. Social media has actually made its way into every classroom, family, and workplace. Whether used by children, teenagers or adults, they all seem to be present in the world of social media. With a wide range of social media platforms used by all age groups, including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter, it can be increasingly difficult to escape the pressures and influences of social media. The latest research from Ofcom suggests that almost half of young people aged between 8 and 17 have a profile on a social networking site such as Facebook, (Teaching times, 2016). The power of social networks is such that the number of users worldwide is expected to reach approximately 2.95 billion by 2020 (Statista, 2017). This may be linked to the assumption that the growth rate of eating disorders is also due to the increase in young people using social media, including cyberbullying, accessibility to find forums, sites to give advice, tricks and information to help with eating disorders and anorexia such as "pro-ana" websites. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay The Independent, 2017 suggested that pro-ana websites are easily accessible, the promotion of anorexia and other eating disorders is increasing and measures should be taken to block or monitor the use of these websites. Due to the large number of social media users, it is showing a correlation between the increase in anorexia due to the idea that you have to appear.