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Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa - People with this disorder see themselves as overweight even though they are dangerously thin. The process of eating becomes an obsession, and unusual eating habits develop, such as avoiding food or carefully weighing and portioning food. They may repeatedly check their body weight and engage in compulsive exercise, vomiting and abuse of laxatives.
Symptoms include:
- Resistance to maintaining body weight at or above a minimal normal weight for age and height.
- Intense fear of gaining weight even though underweight.
- Body image problems.
- Absence of menstruation.
Bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa - People with bulimia usually weigh within the normal range for their age and height. However, they may fear gaining weight or feel intensely dissatisfied with their bodies. People with bulimia often binge in secret and feel relief after purging.
Symptoms include:
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating characterized by eating an excessive amount of food within a short period of time, typically two hours or fewer and by a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode.
- Self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, fasting or excessive exercise.
- Binging and purging behaviors occur, on average, at least twice a week for three months.
- Body image problems.
Additional warning signs:
- Preoccupation with food.
- Swollen salivary glands.
- Broken blood vessels in the eyes.
Eating disorders facts
More than 5 million Americans experience eating disorders.
Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder are real, treatable illnesses that take on a life of their own.
About 90% of individuals with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (18) and about 60% of those with binge eating disorder are female.
A young woman with anorexia is 12 times more likely to die than other women her age without anorexia.
Thirteen percent of young women have substantially disordered eating behaviors.
Between 10% and 15% of those diagnosed with bulimia nervosa are men.
Thirty-seven percent of fourth graders report that they have dieted to lose weight during the past year and 30% report that they are currently dieting.
About half of those with anorexia or bulimia have a full recovery, 30% have a partial recovery, and 20% have no substantial improvement.
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