Comparison Contrast on Anorexia and Bulimia
In today's society, where physical characteristics are used to measure beauty and success, people are willing to push their bodies to extremes to achieve physical perfection. As an overweight woman, I may be considered a failure of society's beauty test. However, my high self-esteem and acceptance of my body allows me to not be disturbed by what, to some, may seem as a sign of failure. Unfortunately, there are people whose desire to be accepted by society causes them to develop eating disorders. The two most common are called anorexia and bulimia (WebMD.Com Eating 1). The Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, association (ANRED), states "Anorexia and bulimia affect primarily people in their teens and twenties, but clinicians report both disorders in children as young as six and individuals as old as seventy-six" (ANRED Statistics 1). Anorexia and bulimia are both serious eating disorders with differences and similarities in their symptoms, diagnosis, causes, treatments and prognosis.Although anorexia and bulimia share many of the same symptoms, they also have many differences. "About half of people with anorexia also have symptoms of bulimia" (MayoClinic.Com 2). According to the American
Antidepressants called Norpamin, Tofranil, and Prozac are commonly used in the treatment of bulimia. Treatment of bulimia is usually done on an outpatient basis, but inpatient treatment may be necessary to make sure a person eats enough (Reyes 2). According to ANRED, a major cause of anorexia and bulimia is the emphasis society places on having a perfect body:A casual review of popular magazines and TV shows reveals that women are encouraged to diet and be thin so they can feel good about themselves, be successful at school and at work, and attract friends and romantic partners. Bulimics practice binging, eating large amounts of food at one time, and purging, causing themselves to vomit, or defecate, in an attempt to prevent weight gain (Reyes 1). Early detection and treatment can effectively manage the disorder and help bulimics look forward to a normal life ("Bulimia Nervosa" 3). Although the disorders are less common among young people who are Asian and black, there is evidence that blacks are more likely to develop bulimia than anorexia. Although anorexia and bulimia are different diseases, they have some of the same causes. According to The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, anorexia has the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric disorders ("Anorexia Nervosa" 2). Recovery may be as short as a few months, or last for several years (ANRED Treatment 1). (ANRED Treatment 2)There are a few disorder specific treatments for both. Anorexia Bulimia Association (AABA), some symptoms of anorexia are: excessive exercising, depression, weakness, exhaustion, constipation, and loss of menstrual period in women (AABA Anorexia 1). , director of the eating disorders program at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, "Weight can only be manipulated so far, and then the biological system pushes back" (qtd in MayoClinic. Bulimia may be harder to diagnose because bulimics may not be visibly underweight and may even be overweight (AABA Bulimia 1).
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