Three Eating Disorders

Anorexia is an eating disorder that struggles with the fear of gaining weight and refuses to be healthy. Another eating disorder is Bulimia, which is when you overeat followed by forced vomiting and excessive exercise. Binge Eating is one of the most common eating disorders along with Anorexia and Bulimia, Binge eating is when you lose control over one’s eating. All of these common eating disorders all suffer from guilt or depression. “Individuals with bulimia and binge eating eat large amounts of food to reduce stress” (CEDC). They also could have risky behaviors, such as dealing with drugs or alcohol or even death. People with Anorexia or Bulimia are very concerned with being overweight or in other words fat.

There are many types of eating disorders but the one of the most commonly known one are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. People who suffer from anorexia are underweight due to deprivation of food and people who suffer from bulimia eat excessive amounts of food then purge all of that food via self-induced vomiting or laxatives. Sufferers from anorexia and bulimia experience emotional and physical problems which can lead to a detriment to their health. Though both diseases are different, sufferers of anorexia and bulimia both have low self-esteem. The reason why I find this disease worth looking into because the results of both of these diseases can be be highly dangerous; either leaving permanent damage to the body or damages that are difficult to reverse.

Five stages of grief were identified by Dr. Kubler-Ross; Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Everybody will grieve in their own unique way, and the order of the five stages may differ from everybody. Some people may not even go through certain stages at all. Grieving helps us get through a rough time whether is finding out a love one has passed or even your own dying process.

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by refusal to maintain body weight over a minimum level considered normal for age and height, along with distorted body image, fear of fat and weight gain, and amenorrhea (absence of menstruation). Bulimia nervosa is characterized by binge eating followed by purging. These behaviors should occur at least twice a week for three months. Binge eating disorder typically

Even if some girls were not classified as having an eating disorder 44% of adolescent girls believed they were heavy and 60% were exercising excessively trying to lose weight. (Katzman et al. Pg. 287). Anorexia and Bulimia nervosa are deemed as medical illnesses or used to describe a psychological disorder by of self-induced starvation in order to become thin. People that have either of these illnesses have an excessive fear of gaining weight although they differ in their causation. Anorexia is when the person starves themselves for days without eating and Bulimia is recurrent binge eating, followed by vomiting, purging, fasting, the use of laxatives, diuretics, and over exercising. Sadly they both cause great harm to the human body.

Anorexia is a very serious eating disorder that causes your mind and your body to be completely obsessive about staying thin; also there have been a few cases where patients have taken self-starvation so far that it becomes life threating. There are many signs and symptoms to anorexia, a few include but are not limited to, “the refusal to eat, the denial of hunger, social withdrawal, unhealthy thin appearance, and lack of emotions” (Eating Disorders). Bulimia eating disorder is

There are two main categorizes when it comes to eating disorders. The first is anorexia nervosa and the second is bulimia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is described as a “body image disturbance together with a relentless pursuit of thinness, often to the point of starvation” (Silva, 2007, pg. 285). Anorexia in simple terms can be described as not eating. Whereas bulimia nervosa is different, it is the act of eating large amounts of food and later on purging it to get rid of it.

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

According to the Mayo Clinic (2016), eating disorders are “conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions, and your ability to function in important areas of life.” One such eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Not to be confused with anorexia, which is simply a general loss of appetite that can be attributed to many medical ailments, anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder and mental illness (Nordqvist, 2015). Anorexia nervosa is estimated to affect about .9% of women and .3% of men in their lifetime (“Eating Disorder Statistics & Research,” n.d.). In general, the disorder is commonly characterized by a distorted body image or self-concept, critically low weight (with respect to the patient’s height and age), and an irrational fear of becoming fat or an intense desire to be thin. There are two subtypes to this eating disorder: restrictive and binge/purge. In the restrictive type, the individual limits caloric intake and may compulsively over-exercise. In the binge/purge type, the individual consumes a considerable amount of food in a short period of time (binging) and then deliberately vomits (purging), takes laxatives, or fasts intensely in order to compensate for the food eaten (“General Information: Anorexia Nervosa,” n.d.). In either case, anorexia nervosa is undoubtedly a dangerous and alarming illness.

According to NEDA anorexia is the “intense fear of weight gain,” which leads to starving oneself to the point of malnutrition ("Types & Symptoms of Eating Disorders”). Bulimia is when a person continually consumes large amounts of food, followed by purging or excessive working out to eliminate the chance of weight gain. Binge eating is similar to bulimia, both consume large amounts, but binge eaters do this and then eat nothing for a while. Their eating patterns go from enormous amounts of food to nothing and back again (“Types & Symptoms of Eating Disorders”). Public awareness about all these eating disorders has been spread, some doctors preach eating right and working out, but few people listen to or act on the doctors words. Eating disorders have become a major problem in American and we need a solution soon.

There is a broad spectrum of eating disorders. Bulimia nervosa (BN), anorexia nervosa (AN) (two basic types, restrictive (ANR) and binge-purge (ANBP)), and binge eating disorder (BED). People with eating disorders often have a morphed perception of their body. Often they feel the need to be perfect, and when they do not look perfect to themselves they feel great shame. Which in effect causes suicide ideation, because they feel they do not deserve to live. It appears that eating disorders may carry the highest suicide risk of any psychiatric disorder.

Anorexia is a loss or a lack of appetite for food. Bulimia is over eating and can follow with vomiting or fasting. Bulimia comes with a lot of emotional issues too. Some people refer to Anorexia and bulimia as “women diseases.” These two medical conditions are more commonly seen in women, but that does not mean men do not suffer greatly. Research was taken and they found these cases affected seven million women and only one million men. It is actually a fact it is more dangerous for men to develop an eating disorder than women. The reason for this is because men will get down to the lowest weight and begin to lose valuable muscle and tissues. This is different than just losing fat.

Anorexia vs. Bulimia About 50% of people who have had anorexia developed bulimia or bulimic patterns according to Mental Health America of Illinois (MHAI). Anorexia and bulimia are two different types of eating disorders who’s rates are increasing among young women. Although anorexia and bulimia are two different types of common eating disorders, they are both influenced by society and many other factors. In comparison, society plays a great role in eating disorders. For example, women are rarely satisfied with their body image.

Anorexia nervosa- Lack or loss of appetite, Also a mental condition made by the person. Many women, children, and young men suffer from this. Bulimia nervosa - an emotional disorder involving distortion of body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depression and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting. is 1.5% in women and 0.5% in men. This translates to approximate 4.7 million females and 1.5 million males suffer from bulimia nervosa.

Although some characteristics may exist in both disorders, there is certain criterion that makes them distinct. The huge distinction between the two is the inappropriate compensatory behavior that Bulimics exhibit (DSM-V, 2013). In other words, people who binge eat don’t necessarily result in getting rid of the food afterward. Another differential diagnosis would be someone who is Anorexia nervosa, binge eating /purging types. As stated in the DSM-V (2013), “these types of behaviors can look similar to one who is bulimic in the beginning stage of someone who is anorexic” (p.