h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Bumped as per Mort's request - although I'm a but late and it's now the weekend...

Matt

I've read it again and saw you incorporated some of the issues discussed in this thread. It's looks good to me.

Here are some more issues to consider addressing:

You say that 'In anorexia people seriously reduce their food intake or stop eating entirely,' but this is not always the case -- it is only true for the restricting subtype of anorexia, not for all cases of anorexia. It is possible to be anorexic and still be taking in 2000 calories a day.

You say that 'Anorexic individuals almost invariably have an abnormal sense of their own body image, and often continue to see themselves as fat even when they are starving and skeletal – for instance, when there is bloating of the tummy and the abdominal muscles waste away due to starvation, the abdomen sticks out.' This implies that the distorted body image generally has some root in what can actually be seen, but this is far from the case. The body image is distorted far before the individual reaches the point described here.

If you're going to talk about heart failure, I think it's worth talking a bit about the causal pathway there -- in part because that causal pathway damages several organs, not just the heart, and also because I think this is something that is often misunderstood. And with the hair loss, I would probably add that it can be accompanied by the growth of a very distinctive type of body hair.

I think I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but I do think that an entry on anorexia would need to include some mention of the 'pro-ana culture' to be balanced and complete.

Thanks for your comments, I was starting to wonder whether people had forgotten me

Anyway, I've jiggered about with some of the order of the information to try and make it clearer. I've put the physical complications in a list form, and added a very small amount about the mechanism of cardiac problems, although I don't want to re-jargonise the Entry...

I've eliminated the bloated abdomen example, it was just making things a bit unclear wherever I put it.

I know I should mention pro-anorexic culture, but where in the Entry would it fit best, do you think?

Matt

I would put the info about pro-ana groups at the end of the entry, in a separate section. Maybe transition into it with something like "On the opposite end from treatment, there are groups for people who want to stay anorexic, and see it as a positive lifestyle choice despite the incredibly significant health risks."


Mikey

I've added a section.

I once saw printed-out images and screens from a pro-anorexic website as part of a tutorial on the disorder. I found the whole thing incredibly disturbing, the same way that reading any website of a self-destructive cult would be. It's almost on a par with peeping at a suicide note.

Still, it needed to be mentioned.

Matt

Looks good to me. Well done.
A few grammatical errors:

arrthymias -> you mean arrhythmias?
an combination -> a combination

For presentation, I recommend adding line breaks between the headings at the bottom.

And here: "if you or someone you know is displaying the signs mentioned above, seek medical attention urgently". I think you mean get *them* to seek medical attention, or seek attention on their behalf.

Had another look, it's looking great! Just a couple of errors...

Treatment section, paragraph 4: There should be a comma after the 'Unfortunately' in scentence 2.

Pro-anorexic culture section: shouldn't 'pronography' be 'pornography.'?

"I once saw printed-out images and screens from a pro-anorexic website as part of a tutorial on the disorder. I found the whole thing incredibly disturbing"

I came across those in a news report on the phenomenon. I agree, very disturbing.

I had no idea that anyone would want to stay anorexic! A positive lifestyle choice?

Changes made, ta!

Matt

Is it just me, or is this whole PR thing taking quite a long time?

Matt

That happens sometimes. Some entries need more work than others to become EG ready. Some entries are on topics that attract more attention -- both from reviewers and from scouts with picks. Likewise, some entries are written in a more engaging style than others. And of course, sometimes there are just a lot of other good entries out there in Peer Review for people to be paying attention to, and so that attention is spread more thinly.

Nothing unusual, nothing to worry about.

I know, I'm just a bit frustrated at the recent pattern of me bumping it, people suggesting improvements, me making them, wait around for a week or two, me bumping it... cycle.

I shouldn't be too worried. My record is five months, for an Entry people didn't seem to have any substantial problems with.

Matt

Hmm, I've a while to go then before I beat that record. I'm deliberately not bumping my Entries in an effort to beat my current 5 week record .

Same here

nice entry

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

congrats

Yay!!

And on the subject of anorexia: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/05/30/national/a101337D75.DTL

Well done, D.M