Young women and men sometimes starve themselves. It doesn’t matter how thin they may be— in their internal mirror, they are fat. Or they may so afraid of gaining weight, yet so desperately hungry, that they eat and eat until they feel so guilty that they must vomit up all the food. These people suffer from eating disorders. Eating disorders have nothing to do with the digestive tract of the person. Rather, the illness resides in the mind.
Anorexia and bulimia are the two most common eating disorders. They tend to appear most commonly in women. In fact, 90 percent of all cases are in women. Most eating disorders begin in the teenage years: anorexia most often occurs around puberty, and bulimia hits a bit later. People with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa share the same fear, guilt, and shame about food and fat. Still, they are two separate disorders with different symptoms. People with anorexia starve and exercise themselves thin. People with bulimia eat unhealthy amounts of food and then vomit or purge themselves. People with anorexia or bulimia tend to start at normal weights, but then suffer from poor nutrition as well as the mental and emotional effects of having an eating disorder. Some people with eating disorders may have a combination of anorexia and bulimia.
People with anorexia or bulimia, despite their different behaviors toward food, share many of the same symptoms. Both are undernourished, and, as a result, may have dry skin, brittle hair and nails, be constipated, and may be sensitive to temperature changes. Women may have irregular periods. People with eating disorders may develop food rituals, like only eating certain foods or at specific times, and they may eat in secret. Even when thin, people with eating disorders think of themselves as fat and are terrified of gaining weight.
Each eating disorder has its unique symptoms, however. People with anorexia lose dramatic amounts of weight, eat little amounts of food, and exercise excessively. People with bulimia, however, have symptoms related to constant vomiting. Their stomach acid eats away at their teeth enamel, burns their esophagus, and can cause the salivary glands to swell. People with bulimia may also have cuts or bruises on their fingers from inducing vomiting.
Both anorexia and bulimia are completely treatable. People with eating disorders need professional help from doctors and psychiatrists. It may take years to learn to control an eating disorder. Love and support from friends and family are also needed for recovery from any eating disorder.
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Anorexia and Bulimia
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Anorexia and bulimia are two different sides of the same coin. While anorexia is often apparent, bulimia is secretive. While anorexics starve themselves for fear of putting on weight, bulimia patients indulge first in overeating, often in isolation, and then induce vomiting; they overuse diuretics...
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The Harmful Emergence of Pro-Bulimia Attitudes
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Though bulimia is classified as an eating disorder, not everyone with bulimia feels like they have a disorder. Some view bulimia and anorexia as lifestyles—chosen lifestyles. People with bulimia and anorexia are terrified or shamed by the thought of getting fat or even eating. They...
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Main Causes of Bulimia
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Some people may feel that they are fat, no matter how thin they actually are. Or they may feel guilty when they eat too much food. The guilt and shame from eating makes the person vomit up all their food. These people have bulimia nervosa,...
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What are the Symptoms of Bulimia?
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Bulimia is an eating disorder. People with bulimia usually have a normal weight, but perceive themselves to be fat. Or they may feel intense guilt or self-disgust when they eat. These feelings are so strong that people with bulimia throw up much of the food...
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Anorexia Statistics
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Different types of anorexia affect as many as 5% of all young women in the United States, and three times the percentage are women who have unhealthy attitudes and behaviors about food. Reports have indicated that in women who suffer from anorexia, the onset of...
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Understanding Bulimia
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When a girl enters puberty, her body changes. It begins to look like a woman’s body, rather than a girl’s. Fat begins to appear. Breasts develop and hips widen as the girl grows. For some young woman, these changes are greeted with excitement. For other...
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The Bulimia Recovery Process
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People with bulimia often feel like they are keeping a secret. No one knows how terrified they are about how they look and how fat they feel. No one knows they are so afraid of gaining weight that after eating they will quietly go the...
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Eating Disorder Statistics
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People with an eating disorder eat in such a manner that compromises their physical health. The manner of eating may vary in ways: it may be excessive or very limited, or eating all the wrong foods. Among the known eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa...
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Male Anorexia
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It may come as a surprise to many, but the fact is that 5% of the total anorexics in America are men. It is mistakenly believed that this disorder is limited only to females, since the stereotypical male is skinny, but well built and powerful....
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The Effects of Bulimia
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People with bulimia have an eating disorder that causes them to binge on food and then, usually, throw up the food during binge-and-purge cycles. Some people may exercise excessively or abuse diuretics or laxatives. Although there is no known cause of bulimia, people who suffer...