Eating Disorders and Obesity: Similarities and Differences
This paper examines the relationship between eating disorders—primarily anorexia and bulimia—and obesity, arguing that the two are more similar than they are different. Drawing on psychological research and clinical observations, the paper compares shared features including genetic predispositions, distorted body image, low self-esteem, and dysfunctional relationships with food. It also acknowledges key differences, such as behavioral manifestations and the fact that obesity is not always rooted in psychological dysfunction. The paper concludes that enough commonalities exist to justify similar treatment approaches, including the Twelve Step program Overeaters Anonymous, for both eating disorders and obesity.
- Introduction: Thesis linking eating disorders and obesity
- Comparing Obesity and Eating Disorder Behaviors: Behavioral overlaps in binging, exercise, and genetics
- Psychological Features of Eating Disorders and Obesity: Shared psychological risk factors and body image distortion
- Key Similarities, Differences, and Treatment Implications: Synthesis of similarities, differences, and shared treatments
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What makes this paper effective
- Uses a clear compare-and-contrast structure that systematically examines behavioral, psychological, and genetic dimensions of both eating disorders and obesity.
- Grounds the argument in peer-reviewed sources and a concrete clinical example—Overeaters Anonymous—to illustrate real-world overlap between conditions.
- Acknowledges counterarguments (e.g., cases where obesity has no psychological component) before reinforcing the thesis, lending the paper intellectual balance.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of comparison and contrast as an organizational strategy. Rather than treating each condition in isolation, the author maps specific variables—genetics, body image, self-esteem, exercise, and treatment response—across all conditions simultaneously, allowing readers to see both convergence and divergence within a unified analytical frame.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a thesis-driving quotation and a claim about the underappreciated overlap between obesity and eating disorders. The second section compares behavioral factors such as binge eating, exercise, and genetics. The third section examines psychological classifications and shared risk factors like distorted body image and low self-esteem. The final section synthesizes the three main similarities and three main differences, ending with a treatment-focused conclusion.
Introduction
According to Himmel (2009), "We could save a lot of pain, suffering and money by incorporating obesity into the range of illnesses now classified as eating disorders, and focusing on prevention." Obesity-related issues are frequently classified separately from eating disorders, but there is more overlap than many people believe. When a person diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia—the traditionally recognized eating disorders—enters treatment with a professional counselor or psychologist, a Twelve Step program called Overeaters Anonymous is sometimes recommended. The Twelve Step program Overeaters Anonymous was not started to help people with anorexia and bulimia, and yet it has come to serve these populations as well, suggesting that what Himmel (2009) says is correct.
Eating disorders encompass a range of disordered eating behaviors. Individual differences ensure that no two people practice an eating disorder for the same reasons. By the same token, obesity can be caused by similar underlying psychological variables as anorexia and bulimia. Eating disorders and obesity do share some features when there is an underlying psychological dysfunction. However, there are cases in which obesity is not caused by a psychological dysfunction; in those cases, obesity can be distinguished from eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. Generally, though, there are enough similar underlying factors—including genetics, behavior, and risk factors—to warrant similar treatment interventions for eating disorders and obesity. Eating disorders and obesity are more similar than they are different.
Comparing Obesity and Eating Disorder Behaviors
Obesity is related to overeating, binge eating, lack of exercise, and a possible genetic component. These factors usually lead the person to become severely overweight. Treatment interventions range from surgery to therapy and the Twelve Step program. These factors related to obesity can be compared and contrasted with similar factors related to eating disorders. Overeating is a common component of some eating disorders such as bulimia and bulimorexia. Bulimorexia is a combination of behaviors associated with both anorexia and bulimia: the individual may occasionally binge eat, only to follow that with a period of starvation. Self-starvation also occurs among the obese population. Obese people sometimes go on fad diets or starve themselves for long periods of time in the same way an anorexic person might. The fact that an obese person is overweight while an anorexic, bulimic, or bulimorexic person may not be should not obscure the similar issues at stake.
In general, however, anorexia usually lacks a binge eating component, and obesity usually involves only a binge eating component without the purging cycle characteristic of bulimia. Exercise is another point of comparison. Not all people with bulimia or anorexia exercise, but many do, and those who do may exercise compulsively. Obesity is often associated with a lack of exercise, which differentiates it from some eating disorders. At the same time, a total lack of exercise is a feature that can be shared among all these conditions. Finally, genetics may be more similar than different across these conditions. As Day, Ternouth, and Collier (2009) point out, anorexia, bulimia, and obesity may share a similar genetic component.
Psychological Features of Eating Disorders and Obesity
Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are classified as psychological disorders, whereas obesity is usually not. With anorexia, the person may be a perfectionist who uses food as a means of self-control. With bulimia, the person oscillates between two extremes of binging and purging. Neither of these symptoms may be present in a person with obesity. Some people with anorexia never overeat, giving the disorder a completely different manifestation than obesity. Anorexic individuals are typically very thin because thinness represents the person's ideal physique, while obese people are, by definition, not thin at all.
With both eating disorders and obesity, however, a person may become preoccupied with body image and may hold a distorted view of their own body. Some obese people exhibit distorted body image by believing that their weight is merely a matter of "big bones." Therefore, distorted body image may be a factor shared across conditions. There are also psychological risk factors common to eating disorders—such as low self-esteem, frequent exposure to media images promoting dieting, and a history of abuse—that are shared among people who are obese as well as those with eating disorders (Day, Ternouth & Collier, 2009). These shared risk factors further support the view that the conditions are closely related at a psychological level.
References
Day, J., Ternouth, A., & Collier, D. A. (2009). Eating disorders and obesity: Two sides of the same coin? Epidemiological Psychiatry, 18(2), 96–100.
Himmel, S. (2009). You must be hungry. Psychology Today, 18 September 2009. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/you-must-be-hungry/200909/is-obesity-eating-disorder
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