This paper introduces and examines three major eating disorders — anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder — exploring their defining characteristics, health consequences, and treatment approaches. The paper discusses how anorexia involves severe caloric restriction and a distorted body image, how bulimia involves binge-purge cycles, and how binge eating disorder is linked to obesity and related health complications. It also considers the role of media in perpetuating unrealistic body ideals and contributing to the spread of these disorders. Drawing on clinical and sociological sources, the paper argues that eating disorders are serious, potentially fatal illnesses requiring integrated medical and psychological treatment.
There are three well-known eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. All of these disorders are now recognized as diseases, and they have spread from America around the world as women and girls become increasingly preoccupied with weight and body image. Eating disorders are dangerous and can be fatal if left untreated.
Perhaps the most well-known eating disorder is anorexia nervosa, usually referred to simply as anorexia. It has also been called the "starving disease." Women — and some men — eat next to nothing because they are obsessed with gaining weight and appearing fat or overweight. Many people do not know that anorexia has been written about for centuries, but it is more common today because of societal demands on women to be thin.
A typical person with anorexia will eat almost nothing and/or exercise compulsively, sustaining a body weight at least 15 percent below what doctors consider normal. In addition, those with anorexia usually do not see themselves as too thin, and they worry about gaining any amount of weight, even a single pound. They do not perceive reality accurately, obsessing about being fat even when they are dangerously underweight. In older girls and women, anorexia can also affect monthly menstrual cycles, causing them to cease (Smolak, Levine, & Striegel-Moore, 1996, p. xvi). For a formal diagnosis, all of these criteria must be present, and menstrual cycles must have stopped for at least three months.
Bulimia nervosa shares some characteristics with anorexia, but with this disease, individuals tend to eat normally — or at least appear to — and then vomit what they have eaten in an effort to lose or maintain their weight. Bulimics may also use laxatives or diuretics to help control their weight. Binge eating disorder and bulimia are often characterized as the same disorder, but they do have important differences. Bulimics frequently eat large amounts of food (binge), then feel guilty or out of control about their behavior and attempt to purge. It is harder to identify bulimics because they often maintain a relatively normal body weight, and so their appearance is not always a visible sign of the disease (Editors, 2002). This disorder can lead to heart disease, electrolyte imbalance, and even death. The case of Terri Schiavo, who suffered brain damage after her heart stopped, is a prominent example — it is believed she had bulimia, and her cardiac arrest was attributed to her constant purging.
Binge eating disorder is closely tied to bulimia, but those with binge eating disorder are often overweight and do not purge after eating. This disorder can lead to obesity and numerous other health problems, including heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, and gallbladder disease (Editors, 2002). Indeed, all of these eating disorders can be dangerous and even deadly.
"Medical and psychotherapy-based treatment strategies"
"Growing prevalence among middle-aged women in America"
"Media's role in promoting unrealistic body ideals"
Eating disorders are becoming an increasingly serious problem. Research now shows that older women continue to experience eating disorders that grow even more dangerous with age. Promoting a healthy body image is one important way to fight these disorders, and the media can help by featuring models and actresses who reflect the diversity of real women's bodies rather than an unrealistically thin ideal. Greater education in schools can also make a difference, as can a broader cultural shift in how beauty and attractiveness are defined. A change in public awareness and understanding can help control these pervasive and potentially life-threatening diseases.
ABC News. (2005). Anorexia also strikes middle-aged women. Retrieved from the ABC Nightly News website: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=1215550&page=1
Editors. (2002). Eating disorders information index. Retrieved from the National Eating Disorders Association website:
Lee, S. (2001). Fat phobia in anorexia nervosa: Whose obsession is it? In M. Nasser, M. A. Katzman, & R. A. Gordon (Eds.), Eating disorders and cultures in transition (pp. 40–54). New York: Taylor & Francis.
Smolak, L., Levine, M. P., & Striegel-Moore, R. (Eds.). (1996). The developmental psychopathology of eating disorders: Implications for research, prevention, and treatment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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