Anorexia and Bulimia Essay

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

Bulimia Nervosa is the other eating disorder Kesha suffered from. The APA describes bulimia as eating in “..excessive quantities, then [purging] their bodies of the food and calories they fear by using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics; vomiting; or exercising.” Bulimia is more common in young women, but can also occur with young men. Because it involves purging the food after eating, the person with the disorder is usually aware of the problem and can feel guilty about it. The National Library of Medicine states that bulimia can be caused by a number of things, including “genetic, psychological, trauma, family, society, or cultural factors.” Symptoms include immediate trips to the restroom after eating, excessive exercise, eating large amounts of food in one sitting (binging), and using laxatives. Bulimia can cause dehydration, gingivitis, worn enamel on the teeth, pancreatitis, tears in the esophagus, and broken blood vessels in the eyes. A person with bulimia may only eat in secret, or eat large sums of food in one sitting. This can cause discomfort and purging can either cause relief or guilt. Support groups, therapy, and antidepressants may be used to treat a person with bulimia. Hospitalization or inpatient treatment is rarely necessary unless another disorder accompanies the bulimia.

In longing to reach the norm many people fall victim to these detrimental illnesses. Sadly, women are more subject to these eating disorders than men, the number of men suffering from eating disorders is on the rise. Our culture puts pressure on each of its inhabitants to attain this ideal body type that is unrealistic for most people. The images that pollute television and magazines make us all feel inadequate if we don't meet the credentials of slenderness; therefore, continuing the role of our society in the development of eating disorders.

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

An eating disorder is an illness that involves an unhealthy feeling about the food we eat. “Eating disorders affect 5-10 millions Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide” (www.eatingdisorderinfo.org 1). They also affect many people from women, men, children, from all ages and different races. People who have eating disorders usually see themselves as being fat when they really aren’t. This usually deals with women or teenage girls mostly. They watch television, movies, read articles in magazines, and see pictures of the celebrities whom they want to be like because they have the “ideal body” that everyone wants and craves for. The media makes us all think we need those types of bodies to be happy with ourselves, be more successful

Eating Disorders: disorders characterized by abnormal eating habits (ex: anorexia nervosa and bulimia). Anorexia is “an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat (cnn.com).” Bulimia is an eating disorder in which a lot of food is consumed in a short amount of time, and is often followed by feelings of guilt or shame. This leads to those people to throw up the food. Today, so many girls believe that they need to be perfect so that they fit into society. This is wrong. Perfect is not real. Sure, some models seem like they are perfect and happy, but the truth is they aren’t. Sometimes, they starve themselves and some have even died because of this. However, this isn’t

While anorexia exhibits a lack of consumption, bulimia is characterized by a period of minimal consumption followed by a period of binge eating, or severe overeating. Furthermore, bulimics tend to relieve themselves of the consumed food through purging. Vomiting, taking laxatives, and using diuretics are common methods of purging. Bulimia has major effects on all parts of the body. For example, bulimics experience an immense fear of weight gain, difficulties thinking and remembering, mood swings, fainting, and alterations in brain chemistry. They can also exhibit heart failure and a slow heart rate as well as anemia and other blood related issues. Muscles start to weaken and joints tend to swell in bulimics. They also can experience kidney failure and have a multitude of kidney stones. Body fluids start to lose magnesium, sodium, and potassium, and bulimics can suffer from constipation and bloating of the intestine. Bulimia can cause major changes in one’s hormones, resulting in the discontinuation of menstruation and difficulties with pregnancies in women and growth complications. Finally, bulimia can cause skin to yellow, an increase in hair growth around the body, skin to bruise easily, and the victim to easily feel cold. (it’d be interesting to add here how the stomach acid can start destroying your esophagus, and stomach

The media constantly sends out an influx of images and messages promoting an almost unattainable unrealistic image of beauty, that has consistently been linked to disordered eating and body dissatisfaction, predominantly among girls but can also be seen in boys. Throughout the years the ideal body shape has progressed from voluptuous and curvaceous an image Marilyn Monroe emulated to a slimmer and leaner frame in congruence with high fashion models such as Kate Moss (Katzmarzk & Davis, 2001). Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia nervosa affect between 1% and 4% of young adult females (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Eating disorders have been linked to body shapes and images present in the media (Shorter, Brown, Quinton & Hinton, 2008).

In our Western society, we have several different types of eating dysfunction, all of which are unique and tragic in their own right. Despite their individuality, however, they all have several overlapping symptoms that are key to their classification and severity. For Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge Eating Disorder (BED), one of the core features is binge eating, which can be defined objectively by number of calories eaten in a given time or subjectively by the feelings of the binger. Binge eating has many different aspects that are of interest to scientists and clinicians alike. One of those interests has to do with the reduction of this symptom among populations being treated for their respective disorder. Because both

In America eating disorders are a pressing issue and are growing in popularity among women of all ages. These eating disorders are caused by many factors including one 's body image which is influenced by a person environment. A big influence on women 's body image today is fashion and media, many women look to magazines, television, and celebrities to get tips on beauty and the perfect body. The one problem with media is the size of models has declined immensely over the years to a very slim size. Many women become dissatisfied with their bodies when they see that they do not fit the ideal body shape that these women in the media have. Although it was not always ideal to be slim the growing use of slender models in fashion and media has impacted women 's body image caused women to become more dissatisfied with their bodies and develop eating disorders. Women are impacted by the women they see on television and movies which in most cases are very slim. Along with television, slender women are seen in advertisements are seen in magazines and billboards which reach women every day. Fashion is also known to commonly use very slender models since the turn of the century. Slender models are used in all aspects of fashion from runway shows to online shopping. All of these different media outlets make a big impression on women, and many feel pressured to fit the ideal body type media has brought forward. When

What happens often times trying to achieve these impossible standards is to control appetite at all times and willpower become essential, the body in affect becomes the enemy. Eating disorders have become a trend among woman and girls as they become increasingly conditioned to lose weight (be in control).

Common symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa include: damage to your heart or cardiac functionality, liver damage, kidney failure, damage to the esophagus, damage to the functioning of your gastrointestinal system and damage to tooth enamel. (Schulherr, Eating Disorders For Dummies)

     When I think of anorexia, a few things come to mind. I think of really bad episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and Baywatch in which females, ususally teenagers, starve themselves and take diet pills. The eating problem is always resolved within the timespan of one 30 minute episode. From the research I've done thus far on anorexia, I now know that this is a very unrealistic representation of what is actually a very serious disease.

Bulimia nervosa patients- even those of normal weight- can severly damage their bodies by frequet binge eating and purging. In rare instances, binge eating causes the stomach to rupture; purging may result in heart failure due to loss of vital minerals, such

In a society that discriminates against people, particularly women, who do not look slender, many people find they cannot - or think they cannot - meet society's standards through normal, healthy eating habits and often fall victim to eating disorders. Bulimia Nervosa, an example of an eating disorder that is characterized by a cycle of binge eating and purging, has become very common in our society. Although it generally affects women, men too are now coming to clinics with this kind of disease. This is not a new disorder. It can be brought on by a complex interplay of factors, which may include emotional, and personality disorders, family pressures, a possible genetic or biologic susceptibility, and a culture in which there is an