Anorexia and Bulimia Essay - 1116 Words

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 periods of binge eating and then purging (vomiting), or sometimes not purging but instead refraining from eating at all for days. Both of these disorders wreak havoc on a persons body and mental state, forcing them to become emaciated and often†¦show more content†¦And then I would find an isolated bathroom and atone for my sinsquot; (K.D.K., 1). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Another factor contributing to anorexia and bulimia is social influence. quot;Historically, men are judged more for what they do and women for how they lookquot; (Costin, 46). Most ads and diet products have been aimed at females in the past, but now are directed towards all people. Ads for clothing and swimsuits portray incredibly thin models showing off their Breaux 3 perfect bodies, and many people are lead to believe that beauty is measured in pounds. Amazingly, most female fashion models are 23% below what is considered a healthy, normal body weight (Costin, 45). Anorexics and bulimics wish to look like these models, and starve, binge, and purge in an attempt to achieve their goal.. quot;Thinness has come to symbolize not only control, but wealth, independence, and freedomquot; (Costin, 48). Anorexia and bulimia are a means for losing weight, which means fitting in, which leads to acceptance - exactly what an anorexic or bulimic is looking for. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Anorexia and bulimia do not distinguish between sex, skin color, or religious background. Women living in the western hemisphere in their teens and early adult years, however, are afflicted with eating disorders more than women anywhere else in the world (Costin, 47). Males can also be anorexic orShow 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 Essay1569 Words   |  7 Pagesadolescent 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 fromRead 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