Teenagers today struggle with numerous issues, often hidden from the public eye. One of the rising issues today is eating disorders. In Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series, one of the main characters, Charlie Spring, struggles with this issue. He hides it from everyone in his life, while the side effects begin to progress, and it is not brought to light until the third book, Heartstopper 3. Oseman depicts the struggles of eating disorders in teens and shows how detrimental it can be to one’s health. Charlie Spring’s eating disorder is an underlying issue throughout the series. It is not the focus until the third book when his school goes to Paris. He will not eat with his friends; he starts feeling and looking sick. Eventually, they find out that he has Anorexia…show more content… Typically, people who suffer from Anorexia start restricting how much food they eat. This can cause an abundance of health issues, such as “constipation, loss of brain volume, hypoglycemia, infertility, liver failure, and many more,” (Ram and Shelke). These are long-term effects and some of them cannot be reversed. While eating disorders are more common in women, quite a few teenage men struggle as well. “36.4% of men aged 14-17 have experienced eating disorders in some capacity,” (Dias, Rech, and Halpern). Men with these disorders are typically looked over or made to feel as though it is not a big deal. If they have anorexia, bulimia, or a binge-eating disorder, they might see it as cutting or bulking and think nothing of it. While this can be done healthily, it can be taken too far and lead to something more dangerous. Having a “feminine disorder” is also typically seen as shameful among boys. Most eating disorder treatment centers cater to women. When a man admits to suffering from an eating disorder, his masculinity is “at risk.” They think other men will think they’re effeminate and
