Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

There is an evidence of dramatic step-up in the number of people that suffer from bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa in recent years. Teenagers and young adult women are most likely to suffer from these eating disorders. An estimated 1% of teenage girls are detected with bulimia and 3% suffer from anorexia. It has been found that about 90% of the people that suffer from these diseases belong to this category. The ten percent that is left over consists of young men and elderly women.

Anorexia nervosa is a condition related to eating that makes the person starve them self. There are often clear signs that a person suffering from anorexia will exhibit. They will go for significant periods of time without eating anything. They also have an overwhelming fear to become fat and are obsessed with the fact that they see themselves as fat. Anorexics also often engage in very heavy, strenuous exercise.

Anorexics experience dramatic weight loss in very short periods of time. Females with anorexia can suffer from irregular menses. Bones lose important minerals and become frail. The organs in an anorexics body start shrinking and are affected. Another health complication with anorexia is an irregular heartbeat. This is a very serious condition because it can lead to heart attack and possible heart failure. Most individuals that suffer from anorexia are of average, perfectly normal body weight. Most people that suffer from anorexia become very withdrawn and anti-social right before the illness sets in.

People that suffer from Bulimia Nervosa have eating binges and then make themselves vomit. Bulimia also has very clear behavioral signs and symptoms just like anorexia. They will often eat to the point of being uncomfortable and in pain. Bulimics tend to try to eat in secret so that they can hide their problem. They frequently go to the bathroom after meals so that they can purge. Bulimics are also known to use diet pills excessively.

People that suffer from bulimia are at risk for a variety of health problems. Some of these problems are quite similar to those detected in patients suffering from anorexia. Bulimics also have tooth decay from the continuous presence of stomach acid in the mouth due to purging. They may also have swollen glands and a sore throat. These conditions are caused by them sticking their fingers down their throat and forcing themselves to throw up. It has been found that bulimics are usually a little overweight. They are also shy and withdrawn individuals well before they develop bulimia.

Young women are the most susceptible to developing these eating disorders. This is thought to be caused by the belief that you have to be thin to be pretty. We see this all the time with models, actresses, and famous people.

People that suffer from eating disorders usually have pretty common personality traits that they all share. Most have low self-pride and a negative image about themselves. They often feel helpless and have an overwhelming fear of becoming fat. However, there are some traits those differ between people with anorexia and bulimia. Most anorexics hardly ever go against their parent’s wishes. Anorexics get the feeling of having control over their lives by restricting their food intake and having a control over their body-weight. They eat extreme amounts of food and are depressed and feel guilty afterwards. Bulimics then drive themselves throwing up in order to make themselves feel better and deal with the negative feelings that they have.