Anorexia and bulima
Anorexia and bulimaAnorexia and Bulima Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is a disorder of self-starvation which manifests itself in an
extreme aversion to food and can cause psychological, endocrine and gynecological
problems. It almost exclusively affects adolescent white girls, with symptoms involving a
refusal to eat, large weight loss, a bizarre preoccupation with food, hyperactivity, a
distorted body image and cessation of menstruation. Although the symptoms can be
corrected if the patient is diagnosed and treated in time, about 10-25 percent of anorexia
nervosa patients die, usually after losing a least half their normal body weight.
Anorexia nervosa patients typically come from white, middle to upper-middle class
families that place heavy emphasis on high achievement, perfection, eating patterns and
physical appearance. (There has never been a documented case of anorexia nervosa in a
black male or female.) A newly diagnosed patient often is described by her parents as a
"model child," usually because she is obedient, compliant, and a good student. Although
most teenagers experience some feelings of youthful rebellion, persons with anorexia
usually do not outwardly exhibit these feelings, tending instead to be childish in their
thinking, in their need for parental approval, and in their lack of independence.
Psychologists theorize that the patient's desire to control her own life manifests itself in
the realm of eating--the only area, in the patient's mind, where she has the ability to
direct her own life.
In striving for perfection and approval, a person with anorexia may begin to diet in
order to lose just a few pounds. Dieting does not stop there, however, and an abnormal
concern with dieting is established. Nobody knows what triggers the disease process, but
suddenly, losing five to ten pounds is not enough. The anorectic patient becomes intent on
losing weight. It is not uncommon for someone who develops the disorder to starve herself
until she weighs just 60 or 70 pounds. Throughout the starvation process she either denies
being hungry or claims to feel full after eating just a few bites.
Another related form of anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder known as "bulimia."
Patients with this illness indulge in "food binges," and then purge themselves through
vomiting immediately after eating or through the use of laxatives or diuretics. People with
bulimia nervosa consume large amounts of food and then rid their bodies of the excess
calories by vomiting, abusing laxatives or diuretics, taking enemas, or exercising
obsessively. Some use a combination of all these forms of purging. Because many individuals
with bulimia "binge and purge" in secret and maintain normal or above normal body weight,
they can often successfully hide their problem from others for years.
Family, friends, and physicians may have difficulty detecting bulimia in someone
they know. Many individuals with the disorder remain at normal body weight or above
because of their frequent binges and purges, which can range from once or twice a week to
several times a day. Dieting heavily between episodes of binging and purging is also
common....
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