Essay on Anorexia and Bulimia

Bulimia nervosa, also called bulimia is a possible life threating eating disorder. A person that suffers from bulimia may secretly binge their food. They may eat large amount of food and then purge their food to get rid of the additional calories that they’ve digested. Bulimia is categorized in two ways, purging bulimia and non-purging bulimia. Purging bulimia is when a person regularly self-induces vomiting after eating. Non-purging bulimia is when an individual may use other methods to try to prevent weight gain, such as fasting, extreme dieting, or overly exercising.

Bulimia nervosa is a second eating disorder that needs attention drawn to it. Bulimia was pretty much unknown before the mid 1970’s (Dippel, N. & Becknal, K., 1987). Bulimia consists of binging and purging (eating as much as possible and then throwing it up). In a study that was conducted it was found that after bulimics had attempted several diets without success, they then became aware of vomiting or laxatives as a means to weight loss (Herzog, 1982). The symptoms of bulimia heave to do with preoccupations with food, weight, body image, and ridding themselves of ingested food (Dippel, N. & Becknal, K., 1987). Most people throw up because they feel guilty for consuming all the foods they know they shouldn’t have. They vomit not only to get rid of the food but to get rid of any unwanted feelings and emotions. Most patients begin purging approximately 1 year after the binge eating has started. As scary as the facts may sound, what is even scarier is the affects

The two most common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Both disorders, primarily affect young women, therefore the majority of the research on eating disorders has been done with women subjects. The onset of bulimia is between adolescence and early adulthood while the onset of anorexia is between early and late adolescence. Not only is the onset different but the disorders are unique. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by loss of control over eating which leads to food binges. These episodes are interspersed with episodes of purging, such as vomiting or laxative abuse, to keep weight down. The goal of anorexia is also to keep weight down , but to a

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating as well as by self-induced vomiting and/or laxative abuse (Mitchell, 1986). Episodes of overeating typically alternate with attempts to diet, although the eating habits of bulimics and their methods of weight control vary (Fairburn et al., 1986). The majority of bulimics have a body weight within the normal range for their height, build, and age, and yet possess intense and prominent concerns about their shape and weight (Fairburn et al., 1986). Individuals with bulimia nervosa are aware that they have an eating problem, and therefore are often eager to receive help. The most common approach to

Bulimia Nervosa refers to when an individual over-eats excessively and then takes action to purge the body of the intake. There are five criteria for Bulimia Nervosa in the DSM-IV, which include: recurring episodes of binge eating, recurring actions of purging, the patterns must continue at least twice a week for three months or more, a huge emphasis on body weight in self-evaluation, and the actions must occur apart

The DSM-IV outlines five criteria for bulimia nervosa (APA, 1994). One, there are recurrent episodes of binge eating. Binge eating is defined as eating in a discrete period of time an amount of food that is definitely larger that most people would consume in a similar period of time. The binge eating must also be characterized by a sense of lack of control over eating. Two, there are recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviors in order to prevent weight gain such as self-induced vomiting, the misuse of laxatives or diuretics, fasting, or excessive exercise. Three, the binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behavior both occur, on average, at least twice a week for three months. Four, self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight. Five, the disturbance does not occur exclusively during episodes of anorexia nervosa. There are two types of bulimia nervosa: the purging type (the person regularly engages in self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives or diuretics) and the nonpurging type (the person uses other compensatory strategies such as fasting or excessive exercise).

Bulimia is a disorder centered around an individual’s obsession with food and weight. This obsession involves eating large quantities of food, feeling guilty about the food consumption, and taking drastic measures to prevent caloric/fat absorption. Measures vary with each individual and include one or all of the following: forced vomiting, abuse of laxatives or diuretics, or excessive exercise. This disease affects one to three percent of adolescent and young women in the United States, and bulimic behaviors are displayed by ten to twenty percent of adolescent and young women in the United States (http://dcs.engr.widener.edu/galla/gal la.htm).

There are multiple types of eating disorders besides Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, such as binge eating disorder, purging disorder, and night eating syndrome. Atypical Anorexia nervosa as is it most commonly known is having a weight that is extremely below the recommended weight. As a result, many of the people who are classified under this eating disorder starve themselves, so that their body can become thin. In some situations, they starve themselves so much that it can at times become fatal. According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, approximately 1 % of the adolescent girls will develop this eating disorder and about 20 % of the people struggling with this eating disorder will die prematurely from complications such as, heart problems or suicide (Miller, 2013, para 2). Bulimia Nervosa occurs when the person has an insanity for overeating too much in short periods and this is then followed by binge eating or purging. The main cause for Bulimia is when the patient has a distorted image of themselves and they see something different from what they really look like. Bulimia Nervosa can be categorized as overeating, fasting, or purging. According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, they say that 3 % of young women will develop Bulimia nervosa. The source also says that about 50 % of the people who had Anorexia will most likly develop Bulimia or Bulimic patterns later on in their life (Miller,

In order to become diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, you must meet certain criteria. These include recurrent episodes of binge eating, and then using compensatory behaviors, such as purging, excessive exercising, or fasting to counteract the effects of the food. For at least 3 months, these behaviors must occur at least twice a week. Also, a person suffering from bulimia is usually over obsessed with having the “perfect body” (Herman & Polivy, 2002). If a patient who meets the criteria of bulimia nervosa also meets the criteria of anorexia nervosa (a common eating disorder), then the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa will take precedence (Bacaltchuk & Hay, 2001). Research shows that almost 50% of patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa become bulimic at some point. Also, 20% of diagnosed bulimics started off as having only anorexia. These statistics suggest that anorexia may be an early stage of bulimia, however it is hard to tell considering the two conditions often stem from the same fear of becoming fat. (Edelstein, Haskew, & Kramer, 1989). All of the information mentioned above is factored in when deciding if an individual will be diagnosed with bulimia nervosa or

Bulimia nervosa is a chronic psychiatric disorder that haunts the lives of many young women. The disorder is characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating followed by some sort of purging. The purging usually involves self-induced vomiting and can cause great damage to the body. Persons diagnosed with bulimia nervosa have a loss of control over these behaviors. Affecting the lives of 3-5% of young women, bulimia is a problem that is spinning out of control and nothing seems to be able to stop it. Binge eating disorder is another psychiatric disease that causes problems for many people. In this disorder, persons binge frequently but do not

symptoms but some of the primary ones are: intake of large amounts of food followed by a sense of loss of control over eating behavior. Bulimics make their selves throw up, fast, and become obsessive to exercise at all times. People with bulimia have an extreme concern with their weight, and body shape. Research has shown that people with bulimia have a chemical imbalance in the brain that affects their behavior. Another cause of bulimia may have to do with genetics. Sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and other events such as being rape can cause someone to lead to bulimia. Bulimics have problem with their bodies and they fear gaining weight so they respond by making their self-throw up.

Bulimia nervosa is a condition where individuals have persistent concerns with their body image and weight. Individuals will have frequent episodes of binge eating followed by either purging or fasting for days to compensate for the large amount of food eaten earlier.

Bulimia is frequent in adolescents and young people and is ten times higher in women than in men. Bulimia is broadly classified in two ways: Purging bulimia: People who suffer from this type of bulimia often use self induce vomiting soon after excessively eating.

Anorexia nervosa and its associated syndrome, bulimia is an extremely dangerous problem that is becoming more widespread. The chief symptoms are self-induced starvation and/or binge eating

“Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by massive food binges followed by self-induced vomiting or use of diuretics and laxatives to avoid weight gain.” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia)