Anorexia and Bulimia Essay - 1569 Words

Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other quot; purging quot; behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently. The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. For example, one in ten anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or†¦show more content†¦In-patients with anorexia, starvation can damage vital organs such as the heart and brain. To protect itself, the body shifts into quot; slow gear quot;: monthly menstrual periods stop, breathing, pulse and, blood pressure rates drop, and thyroid function slows. Nails and hair become brittle, the skin dries, yellows, and becomes covered with soft hair called lanugo. Excessive thirst and frequent urination may occur. Dehydration contributes to constipation, and reduced body fat leads to lowered body temperature and inability to with stand cold. Mild anemia, swollen joints, reduced muscles mass, and light headedness also commonly occur in anorexia. If the disorder becomes severe, patients may lose calcium from their bones, making them brittle and prone to breakage. Scientists from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have also found that patients suffer from other psychiatric illnesses. They may suffer from anxiety, personality or substance abuse disorders, and many are at a risk for suicide. Obsessive compulsive disorder, an illness characterized by repetitive thoughts and behaviors, can also accompany anorexia. 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, suchShow MoreRelatedAnorexia and Bulimia Essay819 Words   |  4 Pagesbecame more concerned with their weight. Perfection and appearances became everything. When being slim became crucial, women, and even men could do everything to fit in this new trend. This includes becoming victims of eating disorders like Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa. These disorders started in people after their restricted diet. They became obsessed with the idea of perfection and beauty. They are extremely concerned with their weights and body images. These girls—and even some men—want to lookRead More Anorexia and Bulimia Essay1116 Words   |  5 Pages Anorexia and Bulimia: A Concise Overview nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;As many as 20% of females in their teenage and young adult years suffer from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (Alexander-Mott, 4). Males are also afflicted by these eating disorders, but at a much lower rate, with a female to male ratio of six to one. Those with anorexia nervosa refuse to maintain a normal body weight by not eating and have an intense fear of gaining weight. People with bulimia nervosa go through periodsRead MoreBulimia and Anorexia Essay1062 Words   |  5 PagesAnorexia is rooted in both nature and nurture. The nature and nurture are sometimes based on the bad genes of the father and the mother. The bad genes produce faulty neurotransmitters and circuits.(â€Å"Case†) The biological underpinnings are only part of anorexia the mechanics is careful not to dismiss the point of the studies to culture and psychological issues of and catalysts for eating disorders. (â€Å"Case†) The studies are put together. This teenage girl in Fijian caused bad eating disorders in justRead MoreEating Disorders : Anorexia And Bulimia1676 Words   |  7 Pagesthe leading mental illnesses in America are Anorexia and Bulimia. Both Anorexia and Bulimia are similar in the fact that they are highly popular in today’s world where it seems that physical appearance is always a topic of discussion; however, the two illnesses are different in the effects they have to a person’s body. To begin, Anorexia is the act of starving oneself due to an unhealthy obsession with one’s weight. Many girls who struggle with anorexia have an intense irrational fear of being overweightRead MoreAnorexia Nervosa And Bulimia Nervosa1452 Words   |  6 Pagestwo major types of eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. One of the descriptions of anorexia nervosa was during the 12th and 13th centuries. A woman, Saint Catherine of Siena, ceased her intake of food for a spiritual denial of herself. During the 16th century people who had self-discipline and practiced abstention were suspected to be witches and were burned at the stake. In the 17th century all the way through the 19th century anorexia was perceived to be an endocrine disorderRead MoreEssay on Anorexia and Bulimia1661 Words   |  7 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bulimia Nervosa [also known as Bulimia] is a very serious and dangerous eating disorder. The disorder can be describe as bingeing and then followed by purging or a person who eats a large amount of food in short periods of time and then vomits after eating to prevent on gaining the weight cause by the food. There is different ways of going about ways to prevent the weight gain, making oneself throw up, taking pills, or laxatives whichRead MoreBulimia Nervos Anorexia Nervosa2594 Words   |  11 PagesBulimia Nervosa Bulimia originated in Greece, from the word boulimia, which is defined as extreme hunger (the Bella Vita, 2013). Bulimia falls into the category of being a purge disorder, a lot of the time people that struggle with bulimia may have times where they battle with anorexia nervosa, meaning they restrict themselves from eating. There have been so many cases where people battle with bulimia for years upon years, despite the large variety of treatment there is. There are many perspectivesRead MoreAnorexia Vs. Bulimia Nervosa1200 Words   |  5 PagesAnorexia vs. Bulimia In our culture today, people concerned with the way they look to a high extent, how much they weight, their physical appearances and how to change a body part they do not like. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are eating disorders that affect a person’s weight to an extreme due to wanting to be thinner when in reality they are already thin to the bone. Both disorders have their similarities and differences from their main obsession of body weight to how they try to loseRead MoreAnorexia Nervosa And Bulimia Nervosa1122 Words   |  5 PagesAnorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are a few of the most common disorders struggled with today. Anorexia Nervosa is a condition of the intense fear to gain weight, which results in consistent lack of eating. Bulimia Nervosa, involves frequent episodes of binge eating followed by throwing up because of fear of gaining weight. The mortality rate for anorexia is the highest of all mental disorders yet the genetic factors relating them wer e not a huge concern to look into. It is easy to think thatRead MoreEating Disorders : Anorexia And Bulimia1229 Words   |  5 Pages Statistics and Resources, published September 2002, revised October 2003, http://www.renfrew.org. What an extremely disturbing fact! With so many people are struggling, why are the differences between anorexia and bulimia so misunderstood by the majority of the population? Anorexia and Bulimia are very severe eating disorders that are described as an unnatural relationship with food. The body of the individual that is diagnosed goes through extreme changes that ultimately cause havoc on the body