Anorexia Nervosa is an underlying mental disorder that has a high rate of fatal. It is an eating disorder problem that comprises of fear of gaining weight. The affected victim develops binge eating habits. It leads to malnutrition. Instead of these alarming issues of reducing weight had emerged as new trending of lifestyles. Those pop culture impacts on body images hugely affect teenagers. This research paper analyses the effects of anorexia nervosa in Leslea Newman’s Fat Chance. It depicts the severeness of Anorexia Nervosa in young students. It provokes the need to create awareness for young generations.

Anorexia Nervosa, distorted body image, depression, Anxiety, Isolation and pop culture.

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by fear of gaining weight. It obsessed them to reduce the intaking of food. The National Institute of mental Illness is defined Anorexia Nervosa as ‘a significant and continuous reduction in intaking food, which leads to extremely low body weight’. Anorexia Nervosa involves both the relentless pursuit of thinness and distorted body image. It evokes intense fear of gaining weight and extremely disturbed healthy eating habits.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness emphasis, certain diagnostic criteria of Anorexia Nervosa are as follows; the affected person restricts the essential calories intake, due to the fear of gaining weight. That low intake of food leads to significantly low body weight. Their mental health is also affected by a disturbance in how a person's body weight or shape is experienced, due to ti the influence of body image on self-evaluation or persistent lack of recognition of the current low body weight.

Anorexia can be quite confused with dieting. But, there are some differences between them. Dieting is an attempt to control weight by following the track of a balanced intake of calories. On the other hand, Anorexia is an attempt to gain control over an individual's life and emotion (Boston Children’s Hospital, 6). The addictive nature of Anorexia leads to uncontrolled weight loss. The affected person’s mind is conditioned on losing weight as the way to achieve happiness. Extreme reduction of calories for a prolonged time may lead to death.

According to Statistics of United States, Approximately over two lakhs individuals in the United States are struggling with anorexia. Out of one woman in every two hundred women is affected by anorexia. It emerged as serious third most common chronic illness in Teenage. The mortality rate for anorexia is 12 times higher than other deadly diseases. That death from Anorexia occurs due to serious medical complications associated with the disorder itself or in the form of suicide. Nearly twenty percent of affected individuals would die. In the case of men, it is less prevalent than females. Out of 10 females, only one man is suffered from Anorexia.

Anorexia Nervosa involves mental illness as Anxiety, depression, fear, isolation, and hopelessness. Anorexia Nervosa implies significant weight loss, a sort of refusal towards healthy weight gain, and a distorted body image. People who are affected are drastically limiting their food intake and have a general fear of gaining weight, even though when they are underweight (Boston Children’s Hospital, 1-2) Anorexia Nervosa often presents during early adolescence or the end of teen age, but it can occur in people of any age.

In American Literature, Young Adult Fictions reflects the seriousness of Anorexia Nervosa. In that stream, the most prominent writer, Leslea Newman draws the picture of depressed mind of teenagers. She proclaims that the pop culture indirectly influences the young minds. Those pop culture stresses on beauty standards and over conscious towards their appearance.

Leslea Newman is a Jewish American writer. She had written well-known picture books like Daddy’s Songs, Runaways Dreide!!, Cats, Cats, Cats!, Hachiko Waits. She received the Parents’ Choice Silver Medal. Newman’s writings bring out the concepts of Jewish lifestyle, Anorexia Nervosa, body image, lesbian, and gender roles. Some of her Young Adult Fictions are Good Enough to Eat: A Novel, Jailbait, and Fat Chance.

Fat Chance centers on the character of Judi Liebowwtiz, a high-grade student, who was afraid to gain weight. She wants to be thin like fashion models. The protagonist, Judi had a sort of inferiority towards her body image. In the beginning of the novel, Judi seems to be healthy teenager, who was studying in eighth grade. Newman accounts how Judi was influenced on image-consciousness.

At once, one of her school friend teased her plumpy outlook and mocks at her. So, Judi deeply hurts and decided to reduce weight as the models in fashion magazine. Judi describes herself as ‘pale and dumb looking’. At the same time, she describes her friend, Nancy Pratt as thin and beautiful. Here, it can see the inferior complex of Judi over being in perfect shape.

Judi continually refrains that she was fat and ugly. Nobody will love her. She believed that all the boys like only skinny girls. She too accepts that skinner is better. Judi shared that how Ms. Roth was teased by her classmates. “They called her a sloth. Judi too accepts that why fat people shouldn’t wear white clothes. It might transparent the bra strips” (Newman, 3). Judi thought that Ms. Roth does not have a sense of dressing. She started to give a list of how fat people should be dressed. She counts that they must avoid belts and some other stuff.

Newman brings the typical mindset of teenagers about their consciousness of appearance. Despite taking care of their health, they give more importance to their appearance. Like Judi, they started to judge others' looks. It showcases how the young generation's minds were condition by media culture. They started to expect that everyone should adopt the ideal standard of beauty shape. If they do not fit into the shape, society would marginalize those people.

Judi concerns about her weight. Because she worried about the size of the dress keeps increase according to her grades. She says:

“What she would do if she wears a size of 11/12 in eighth grade, size of 13/14 in ninth grades, size of 15/16 in tenth grades, and size of 17/18 in eleventh grades. If it’s cross 19/20 size in twelfth grade, she confronts that she would die.” (Newman, 10)

She states that she can’t able to bear such weight in this society. This kind of fear deeply depressed her. Newman detailed those minute features can affect the healthy mind. Sometimes Judi asserts that she would wear a big bag around her body and hide the whole thing. From this above statement of Judi, Newman tries to converse that how young students were tormented by the fear of gaining weight and they nod to hide their body by covering up my bags. It shows how their emotions are fragile to face society.

Alder discuss on the stress in her work, Stress, Anxiety and Depression coping strategies, “The unmanaged stress has the potential to disrupt the healthy mental state. Chronic Stress leads to risky condition and it are difficult to manage it”. The anxiety cycle consists of four parts, such as affect thoughts which lead to distorted feelings.

Those feelings can impact physical health, which can alter the normal behaviour of the person. In this novel, both Judi and Nancy have undergone this anxiety cycle. Judi asserts as follows: “I will grow out of this awkward stage into an even too bigger, more awkward stage… what it’s like to be the fattest girl in the entire grade.”(Newman,28)

Newman elaborates on Nancy’s survival fear in the novel as; she accused the health providers of giving high-calorie food. She was afraid to gain weight. She feared how she could dance or wear modern outfits when she puts more weight. In the case of Judi, she too asserts that if she was fat, she could get a boyfriend or any recognition in society.

Newman depicts the peak of perfect which is portrayed by the pop culture in the character of Nancy Pratt. Judi describes,” Nancy as a perfect icon. When they went to change their gym suit, Judi notices that Nancy’s body was completely thin. Nancy didn’t have any marks of jeans on her belly” (Newman, 12).

Judi regrets that she has those marks on her belly. She claimed it as luck. The way Nancy combing her hair and the way, everyone admiring her beauty creates inferiority in Judi’s mind.

She gets guidance from the library book The Fast Weigh Out, which tells about the rules of fasting. There it says to drink more water and fresh juices to keep hydrate the body. Judi calculates that “fresh juices for a day can give 120 calories. So, she denied it, intake juice, she thought it was a wise decision. She drank only water and starves.” (Newman, 65)

In the novel, Nancy used to purge vomit after having lunch with her boyfriend. Even in her vomit, she saw blood. But, she continues to purge to reduce her weight. Later, Nancy went unconscious due to a loss of nutrients. It illustrates how Nancy hurt herself to reduce her weight. Even when she was admitted to the hospital, she tried to purge the foods. But, the nurse didn’t allow her. So, she demanded Judi to brought laxatives.

When Judi refused and expressed her concerns to Nancy, she blackmailed Judi by her popularity in school. Judi brought laxatives and hide them in the maths book. She gave it to Nancy. Later, Judi felt insecure about Nancy’s health. On the advice of Ms. Roth, without the knowledge of Nancy, Judi erased the trace of the evidence of her mistake.

Newman explicates the careless and helpless nature of Nancy. When Judi gets knowledge about eating disorders in her school meeting, she wants to share it with Nancy. But, Nancy refused to hear.

She said that she was already attending those videos and classes in the hospital. It shows how Nancy’s mind was preoccupied with anorexia stigma. Her mental dilemma avoids her to think properly.

While Nancy is admitted to the hospital, Judi describes the appearance of Nancy as a skeleton. She compares her stomach to a concave teaspoon. Judi thought that she must gain some weight. But Nancy describes how they insert the sugar trips into her empty veins. Nancy hates feeling full. She changed and conditioned her mind as ‘empty as good’. Her satisfaction only relied on being empty.

Newman expresses Judi’s jealousy towards her friend, Monica. She describes her friend, Monica as a musician. “She had a great body. She can eat whatever she wants to and but, she still wears a size of 7/8. Judi claimed that it’s not fair at all. She worried; life is not fair at all.” (Newman, 58)

Here, Newman wants to clear one point that every human body has its unique features. Judi was blessed with a big bone and Nancy with a small bone. Monica had a normal body which come put weight as easily. It is all related to heredity. It’s not the fault of a person. Newman expresses the same thoughts from Ms. Roth’s options on body shape.

When Ms. Roth said that she was happy for being fat and she was blessed with a loving husband and daughter, Judi was shocked that her class teacher was so comfortable with being fat. Judi thought that everyone under the sun was thinking fat as ugly and dumb.

Ms. Roth replied that overthinking gives a pace to think in that way. She asked Judi to keep herself too engaged in so works like drawing or some other hobbies. Judi replied that she was didn’t know much about it. Roth told that Judi has a wonderful language flow in writing. She encourages Judi to be a writer.

Newman opens up the other beautiful side of life where people accept their uniqueness and have a peaceful life. This is the reality of life. But, Judi and Nancy were unaware of reality. Their thoughts fully engaged on fashion magazine and its projected lifestyle of pop culture. Hence, this research articles pictures the distorted body image in the Leslea Newman’s Fat chance. It elaborates the severness of anorexic and also accounts the influences of fashion magazines in the budding youngsters mind.

1. Newman, Leslea. Fat Chance, Livewire, The Women Press Ltd, 1994.

2. Understanding Eating Disorders: A Guide for Parents and Families, Boston Child hospital, 2009.

3. Gordon. Joshua A. The National Institute of Mental Illness, 2021.

4. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders

5. Alder. Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Coping Strategies: An Adlerian View with Art Therapy, Deborah S. Endres-Goggins, 2019.

6. American Psychiatric Associations. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness,2013.

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