Anorexia Nervosa
It is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes an eating disorder. It mainly affects girls and young women. A person with this disorder has an intense fear of gaining weight and limits the food she eats. She has a low body weight refuses to keep a normal body weight is extremely afraid of becoming fat believes she is fat even when she's very thin misses three (menstrual) periods in a row—for girls/women who have started having their periods.
Individuals with anorexia often control body weight by voluntary starvation, purging, vomiting, excessive exercise, or other weight control measures, such as diet pills or diuretic drugs.
Anorexia is more than just a problem with food. It's a way of using food or starving oneself to feel more in control of her life and to ease tension, anger, and anxiety. While there is no single known cause of anorexia, several things may contribute to the development of the disorder.
- Biology: Several biological factors, including genetics and other related hormones, may contribute in the onset the disorder.
- Culture: Some cultures in the U.S. have an ideal of extreme thinness. Women may define themselves on how beautiful they are.
- Personal feelings: Someone with anorexia may feel badly about herself, feel helpless, and hate the way she looks. She has unrealistic expectations of herself and strives for perfection. She feels worthless, despite achievements and perceives a social pressure to be thin.
- Stressful events or life changes: Things like starting a new school or job or being teased to traumatic events like rape can lead to the onset of anorexia.
- Families: People with a mother or sister with anorexia are more likely to develop the disorder. Parents who think appearance is very important, diet themselves, and criticize their children's bodies are more likely to have a child with anorexia
There are many medical risks associated with anorexia. They include: shrunken bones, mineral loss, low body temperature, irregular heartbeat, permanent failure of normal growth, development of osteoporosis and bulimia nervosa.
Bulimia Nervosa
It is a psychological eating disorder. Someone with bulimia eats a lot of food in a short amount of time and then tries to prevent weight gain by purging. Purging might be done in these ways: making oneself throw up taking laxatives, pills, or liquids that increase how fast food moves through your body and leads to a bowel movement.
Bulimia is more than just a problem with food. Purging and other behaviors to prevent weight gain are ways for people with bulimia to feel more in control of their lives and ease stress and anxiety.
While there is no single known cause of bulimia, many things may have a role in its development.
- Biology: There are studies being done to look at many genes, hormones, and chemicals in the brain that may have an effect on the development of, and recovery from, bulimia.
- Culture: Some cultures in the U.S. have an ideal of extreme thinness. Women may define themselves on how beautiful they are.
- Personal feelings: Someone with bulimia may feel badly about herself, feel helpless, and hate the way she looks.Stressful events or life changes. Things like starting a new school or job, being teased, or traumatic events like rape can lead to the onset of bulimia.
- Families: The attitude of parents about appearance and diet affects their kids. Also, a person is more likely to develop bulimia if a mother or sister has it.
People with bulimia may be underweight, overweight, or have a normal weight. This makes it harder to know if someone has this disorder. However, someone with bulimia may have these signs:
- Uses extreme measures to lose weight uses diet pills, or takes pills to urinate or have a bowel movement goes to the bathroom all the time after she eats (to throw up) exercises a lot, even during bad weather, tiredness, sickness, or injury
- Shows signs of throwing upswelling of the cheeks or jaw area cuts and calluses on the back of the hands and knuckles teeth that look clear
- Acts differentlyis depressed doesn't see friends or participate in activities as much
The biggest difference between anorexia and bulimia is that people suffering from bulimia eat large amounts of food and then throw up. This is called binge and purge. Anorexics do not eat large amounts and throw up. Bulimics do.
