Anorexia and Bulimia
explanatory Essay
1575 words
Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other " purging " behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently. The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. For example, one in ten anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or suicide. Fortunately, increasing awareness of the dangers of eating disorders, sparked by medical studies and extensive media coverage, has led many people to seek help. Nevertheless, some people with eating disorders refuse to admit that they have a problem and do not get treatment. Family and friends can help recognize the problem and encourage the person to seek treatment.
Anorexia nervosa is a disorder where people intentionally starve themselves. It usually starts around the time of puberty and involves extreme weight loss. Sometimes they must be hospitalized to prevent starvation because food and weight become obsessions. For some, the compulsiveness shows up in strange eating rituals, some even collect recipes and prepare gourmet feasts for family and friends. Loss of monthly menstrual periods is typical in women with this disorder and men with this disorder usually become impotent.
People with bulimia nervosa consume large amounts of food and then rid their bodies of the excess calories by vomiting, abusing laxatives or exercising obsessively. Some use a combination of all these forms of purging. 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. As with anorexia, bulimia typically begins during adolescence. The condition occurs most often in women but is also found in men. Many individuals with bulimia, do not seek help until they reach their thirties or forties. By then, their eating behavior is deeply ingrained and more difficult to change.
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Family members and friends can call local hospitals or university medical centers to find out about eating disorder clinics and clinicians experienced in treating the illnesses, for the college students, treatment programs may be available in school counseling centers.
Family and friends should read as mush as possible about eating disorders, so they can help the person with the illness understand his or her problem. Many local mental health organizations and the self help groups provide free literature on eating disorders. Some of these groups also provide treatment program referrals and information on local self-help groups. Once the person gets help, he or she will continue to needs lots of understanding and encouragement to stay in treatment.
NIMH continues its search for new and better treatments for eating disorders. Congress has designated the 1990's as the " Decade of the Brain, " making the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of all brain and mental disorders a national research priority. This research promises to yield even more hope for patients and their families by providing a greater understanding of the causes and complexities of eating disorders.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that millions of people in the united states are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is a disorder where people intentionally starve themselves. it usually starts around puberty and involves extreme weight loss.
- Explains that people with bulimia nervosa consume large amounts of food and then rid their bodies of the excess calories by vomiting, abusing laxatives or exercising obsessively.
- Explains that eating disorders can cause medical complications, such as heart failure, dehydration, anemia, swollen joints, reduced muscle mass, and light headedness.
- Explains that bulimia nervosa patients can severly damage their bodies by frequet binge eating and purging.
- Explains that eating disorders are most successfully treated when diagnosed early. anorexia may not receive medical or psychological attention until they have already become dangerously thin and malnourished.
- Explains the importance of a comprehensive treatment plan for people with eating disorders — the longer eating behaviors persist, the more difficult it is to overcome the disorder.
- Explains that nimh supported scientists have examined the effectiveness of combining psychotherapy and medications. in bulimia, cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressant medications were most beneficial.
- Explains that mental health professionals need to be combined with others to obtain the best treatment. the challenge of treating eating disorders is made more difficult by metabolic changes associated with them.
- Explains that treatment can save the life of someone with an eating disorder. friends, relatives, teachers, and physicians all play an important role in helping the ill person start with a treatment program.
- Advises that family and friends should read as much as possible about eating disorders, so they can help the person understand his or her problem. local mental health organizations and self-help groups provide free literature and treatment program referrals.
- Explains that nimh continues its search for new and better treatments for eating disorders. congress designated the 1990's as the 'decade of the brain,' making the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of all brain and mental disorders a national research priority.
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- Anorexia Nervosaexplanatory essayAnorexia Nervosa, AN, is an eating disorder that affects mostly females in their teenage years. The number of people that suffer from this disorder has increase in the recent decades making it a disorder that causes more deaths compare to any other psychological disorder. AN can have an effect on someone’s social life as well as physically and psychologically. It’s a disorder that can be treated with proper treatment, but identifying the symptoms is the first step.
In this essay, the author
- Describes anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that affects mostly females in their teenage years. it causes more deaths than any other psychological disorder.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa entails refusal to uphold health weight range as well as body image distortion.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is portrayed by relentless hunt of thinness, emaciation, deep fear of gaining weight and distortion of body image.
- Explains the connection between body image and eating disorders. the media feeds the idea of what the perfect body should be in order to be seen as beautiful.
- Explains that people who suffer from an don't see their body as perfect and feel ashamed or embarrass of their bodies, which can lead to isolation and fear of eating in public. their self-esteem depends on their weight.
- Explains that an affects people in industrial societies like the u.s., canada, and europe. caucasians in upper and middle socioeconomic groups have a higher tendency to be affected.
- Explains that people with eating disorders can share similar behavioral and personality traits that can be found in those that are diagnosed with addiction or depression.
- Explains that diagnosing anorexia is not easy due to the fact that individuals that have this disorder normally try to hide the disorder.
- Explains that individuals diagnosed with an fall into one of the two subtypes of restricted or purging and binging.
- Explains that an is amongst the psychological disorder, which has the biggest mortality rate. suicide is a common cause of death in people with this disorder.
- Explains that treatment of anorexia varies depending on one's conditions. it is important to establish a healthy body weight and to treat any medical condition is the first step.
- Explains that medications that treat depression and anxiety can be used to stabilize mood. psychological therapies include group therapy, individual therapy and maudsley therapy.
- Explains that maudsley therapy is another effective treatment of anorexia. it involves the family especially the parents.
- Explains that the maudsley approach has been promising and has produced surprisingly encouraging results. the therapist takes some time to talk to the patient and his/her family, to determine the family’s interpersonal connection and eating habits.
- Opines that early identification and treatment could improve the overall diagnosis in a person with anorexia.
- Cites the american psychiatric association's diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.
1530 wordsRead More - Types Of Eating Disordersexplanatory essayAnorexia Nervosa is characterized by a strong desire to lose, or not to gain weight through starvation. This can be caused by the victim’s distorted view of their own body image. The two generalized types are: strict diet and exercise, and binging and purging (Martini, Nath, Bartholomew, 2012). Bulimia nervosa is categorized by episodic binge eating that is followed by guilt, depression, and self-condemnation (Martini, Nath, Bartholomew, 2012). These emotions noted are usually followed by attempts to lose weight by way of self-induced vomiting, laxatives, dieting, and or fasting. Excessive eating followed by periods of fasting or self-induced vomiting are characteristics of binge-purge...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that eating disorders are psychological problems that result in inadequate or excessive food intake. eating disorders affect females, but males can also be affected.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is characterized by a strong desire to lose, or not to gain weight through starvation.
- Explains that the latest trend in eating disorders comes in disguise by doctor’s orders; we are now entering the “gluten free zone”.
- Cites the huffington post uk's eating disorders awareness week: cosmopolitan launches a campaign urging doctors to review assessments.
- Cites casserly, m., martini, nath, bartholomew, and mayo clinic staff.
840 wordsRead More - Anorexia and Bulimiaexplanatory essayAnorexia and Bulimia: A Concise Overview As many as 20% of females in their teenage and young adult years suffer from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (Alexander-Mott, 4). Males are also afflicted by these eating disorders, but at a much lower rate, with a female to male ratio of six to one. Those with anorexia nervosa refuse to maintain a normal body weight by not eating and have an intense fear of gaining weight. People with bulimia nervosa go through periods of binge eating and then purging (vomiting), or sometimes not purging but instead refraining from eating at all for days.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that treatment is an option for anorexics and bulimics, though it can take years, and sometimes it never succeeds.
- Explains that as many as 20% of females in their teenage and young adult years suffer from either anorexia or bulimia nervosa.
- Explains that anorexics have low self-esteem and berate themselves with insults, and feel ashamed of their behavior. ads for clothing and swimsuits portray thin models.
- Explains that anorexics and bulimics wish to look like these models and starve, binge, and purge in an attempt to achieve their goal.
- Explains that eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are devastating to a person's body, causing them to be dangerously underweight.
1108 wordsRead More - Anorexia Nervosa: Etiology, Treatment, and Related Informationexplanatory essayThis paper was designed to discuss several basic topics regarding anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is and eating disorder with an incredibly high mortality rate characterized by low body weight and an obsessive fear of becoming overweight that occurs primarily in females after puberty, yet before the age of 40 years. Unfortunately, Not much is known about the causes of anorexia nervosa, but possible correlations are blood relation to a person suffering from anorexia nervosa, those who have recently experienced a stressful event, a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder in childhood, or participation in a culture or profession that values thinness.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder with an incredibly high mortality rate characterized by low body weight and an obsessive fear of becoming overweight.
- Explains that the treatment for anorexia nervosa typically involves an inpatient or outpatient intensive psychotherapy program, but there have also been developments in the use of medication.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by purposeful restriction in energy intake leading to a low body weight for an individual’s age, height, sex, and health.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa has two main sub-types: restrictive and binge eating and purging. the symptoms include low body weight, depression, irritability, social withdrawal, insomnia, amenorrhea,
- Explains the prevalence of anorexia nervosa is affected by age and gender factors, according to the dsm-v.
- Explains that there is no direct cause associated with the onset of anorexia nervosa, but it is triggered by a stressful life event.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa treatment involves intensive hospital stay programs which are effective in both the restoration of weight to the patient as well as the decrease in depression and obsessively compulsive tendencies.
- Explains that two main areas of research to speed up the treatment time of anorexia nervosa are developing more efficient outpatient programs, and the development of medications to restore weight and decrease obsessive and depressive symptoms in individuals suffering from the condition.
- Explains that the experiment "three psychotherapies for anorexia nervosa: a randomized, controlled trial" used physical measurements, self-report questionnaires, and assessments to measure the overall effectiveness of the treatment.
- Explains the focus of the experiment, which was to determine which psychotherapy was the most effective for anorexia nervosa.
- Explains that cognitive behavior therapy is based on the idea that anorexia nervosa becomes a habit that is independent of what initially caused the disorder.
- Explains the interpersonal psychotherapy for depression and bulimia nervosa. the therapist recorded major life events, personal relationships, and eating problems for each individual.
- Explains that individuals receiving the control, nonspecific supportive clinical management, received treatment that strove to mimic typical outpatient treatment of individuals with anorexia nervosa.
- Concludes that nonspecific supportive clinical management is the most effective method of treating anorexia nervosa.
- Opines that while treatments for anorexia nervosa have improved over the years, they are still generally ineffective. most individuals will go through fluctuating periods of weight gain and relapse.
- Opines that anorexia nervosa is still a mystery and further research should focus on its causes. once the clear cause has been outlined, effective treatments for the disorder will become easier.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by low body weight and an obsessive fear of becoming overweight that occurs primarily in females after puberty, yet before the age of 40.
- Cites the american psychiatric association's diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.
- Explains that three psychotherapies for anorexia nervosa: a randomized, controlled trial.
1859 wordsRead More - Anorexia Nervosa Research Paperexplanatory essayEating disorders affect many people every day. Overcoming eating disorders can be a very difficult task for the people it affects. Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, deadly eating disorder that several people are diagnosed with every year, especially females. Women are seven to ten times more likely to develop an eating disorder than men. What would make someone want to go to the extent to starve themselves to lose weight? There are many reasons why people with Anorexia Nervosa refuse their bodies to eat. Treating the psychological disorder can be a very difficult task, but it is important to help people get back to a normal, healthy life. My belief is that anorexia nervosa is a social problem and actions should be taken to prevent this disease from its continuance.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that anorexia nervosa is a social problem and actions should be taken to prevent it from continuing.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is a psychological disorder that causes people to starve themselves.
- Explains that there are two types of anorexia nervosa: the first is when someone restricts their food intake, especially in carbohydrates, and the second involves periods of binge eating and purging.
- States that the majority of people with anorexia nervosa are white teenage girls living in middle to upper class society.
- Explains that one in two hundred americans are diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and nearly half of the people living in the united states knows someone with this disease.
- Explains that females feel the pressure to be thin to feel like they are attractive. this is true with males as well; they always have toned bodies.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is not just about food and weight, it is about fulfilling a need in their life in several cases.
- Explains the consequences of being anorexic, such as deteriorating muscle tissue, brittle fingernails, dry skin, and sore joints, low blood pressure and anemia.
- Explains that people with anorexia nervosa's metabolism is low because they aren't eating consistently, so their body has to save every ounce of food.
- Explains that there are many different methods for recovering from anorexia nervosa. the first step is for the anorexic to realize that they have a problem and be willing to get help and treatment.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is a serious and possibly deadly disease that affects many people around the world.
1849 wordsRead More - The Physiology and Psychology of Bulimiaexplanatory essayThe Physiology and Psychology of Bulimia Bulimia is a disorder centered around an individual’s obsession with food and weight. This obsession involves eating large quantities of food, feeling guilty about the food consumption, and taking drastic measures to prevent caloric/fat absorption. Measures vary with each individual and include one or all of the following: forced vomiting, abuse of laxatives or diuretics, or excessive exercise. This disease affects one to three percent of adolescent and young women in the United States, and bulimic behaviors are displayed by ten to twenty percent of adolescent and young women in the United States (http://dcs.engr.widener.edu/galla/gal la.htm).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the bulimic must be taught the difference between food as a healthy part of life and as an addictive substance. antidepressants reduce the patient's reactivity to stressful life situations.
- Explains stunkard, albert j., and stellar, eliot. eating and its disorders: research publications.
- Explains that bulimia nervosa is a disorder centered around an individual's obsession with food and weight.
- Explains that part three of the triad involves the treatment of an individual and her family.
- Explains that beumont, pierre j.v. and fichter, manfred m., and paul e. garfinkel, eds.
- Explains that wurtman, j.j. and r.wurtmann, eds., "carbohydrate craving in obese people: suppression of serotoninergic transmission."
2758 wordsRead More - Anorexia Nervosa Throughout Historyexplanatory essayAs defined by the National Eating Disorders Association, “Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.” (NEDA). The term “Anorexia Nervosa” literally means “neurotic loss of appetite”, and could be more generally defined as the result of a prolonged self-starvation and an unhealthy relationship regarding food and self-image. It is characterized by “resistance to maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height”, “intense fear of weight gain or being “fat”, even though underweight”, “disturbance in the experience of body weight or shape, undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of low body weight”, and “loss of menstrual periods in girls and women post-puberty.”(NEDA) Among women on a range of 15 to 24 years old, AN has been proved to have 12 times the annual mortality rate of all death causes, and from premature deaths of anorexic patients, 1 in every 5 is caused by suicide, which gives a rise of 20% for suicide probability. (EDV)
In this essay, the author
- Opines that as much pleasure food may bring us, we should never forget that we need it to survive.
- Explains that anorexia nerveosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.
- Opines that the media plays a crucial role on who we are as individuals and society, and how we look at the world.
- Explains that anorexia results on dangerously low weights, and it is commonly thought to be a modern illness. the media and the idea it sells about what beauty is are the main causes of this phenomenon.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is not a modern illness. gull's definition of the disease in 1874 is regarded as the moment of discovery of an.
- Explains that in the middle ages, fasting was used as means to purify the body, but in many cases went to extreme self-starvation, which was disapproved by the church and ended up with death.
- Explains that medical language and medical terms are written in a cultural and historical context, and during the middle ages science was not used as an explanation for unknown things.
- Analyzes catherine benincassa's case, which serves as a tool to prove the existence of holy anorexia.
- Opines that the media perpetuates anorexia because it spreads ideas of beauty faster than it could have ever been done before. other factors have to do with the prevalence and increase of the illness.
- Explains that a twin study published in the american journal of psychiatry found that genetic factors influence the development of anorexia nervosa, with an estimated hereditability of 58%.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is influenced by the inheritance of genes that provide a controlling profile. controlling people look for sources of control, and in many cases those sources are nonexistent.
- Explains that food is a necessity; starvation normally results from the incapability to get food. eating is an instinct, tied to basic instincts of survival.
- Explains that if someone is obligated to eat by force, then he or she may as well choose to vomit that food. the church, fearing a possible heretic, had men who watched her and ordered her
- Explains that purging is an indirect way of restricting food, when "forced" to eat by convenience, or avoid uncomfortable situations. this proves that eating is something under absolute control of the individual.
1123 wordsRead More - Eating Disorders in Americaopinion essayToday, America is plagued with eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Compulsive Eating Disorders. Each has its own characteristics that distinguish the illness yet there are some similarities that they also share. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, as with most mental illnesses, eating disorders are not caused by just one factor but by a combination of behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal and social factors. Shockingly, they also report that in the United States, there are as many as 10 million females and 1 million males that are battling with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Additionally, another 25 million are struggling with binge eating disorders (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org). Typically, psychological factors such as depression and low self-esteem contribute to eating disorders...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that people struggle to live without food to accomplish the standards that our culture has created for them. the media sends us messages that being fat is bad and unhealthy while being beautiful is acceptable.
- Explains that eating disorders are caused by a combination of behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in america.
- Compares bulimia nervous to anorexia nervosa, which is characterized by compulsive binge-eating and purging.
- Explains that a common disorder that has recently erupted is compulsive eating disorders. they state that people who are diagnosed are unaware of the dangerous that are associated with it.
- Explains that males who develop these disorders are athletes who have to maintain a regular body weight to perform in sports. they are more likely to experience lowered testosterone levels, have problems thinking clearly, and isolate themselves from others.
- Analyzes how the media has distorted the image of how a person should look to gain success and happiness. advertisements for losing weight in weeks have pushed many into using over-the-counter diet pills.
- Opines that eating disorders impose great burdens on families. families should engage in family therapy for support and understanding of how the disorder impacts a person and their family.
- Explains that families play a part in the development of eating disorders. they suggest that past traumatic experiences such as physical or sexual abuse, family and cultural pressures to be thin, low self-esteem, and family dysfunctions, are connected when an individual is diagnosed with an eating disorder.
- Explains the importance of early detection in treating a person with an eating disorder. psychotherapy or psychological counseling deals with changing the patient’s negative body image, while outpatient therapy includes support, group, or family therapies.
- Opines that americans need to be more health conscious and adapt to a better understanding of appropriate healthy dieting.
- Cites epstein, rachel, roberts ph. d, paul r. anorexia and bulimia. enslow publishers, inc., springfield, nj.
1926 wordsRead More - Anorexia And Eating Disorderscomparative essayThere are up to twenty-four million people of all races and genders that suffer from an eating disorder in the USA. ("National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders). An eating disorder is any range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbing eating habits. Eating disorders can begin at any age and continue until old age if it goes untreated. Bulimia and Anorexia are the most common eating disorders in this word today. In a generation of the ideal image, bulimia and anorexia have become increasingly common amongst today youth. Although the two disorder may seem similar, and in some cases they are, bulimia and anorexia have clear social, physical, mental, and health differences.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the physical signs of bulimia and anorexia patients, including scars on the fingers, a broken blood vessel in the eyes, and dehydration.
- Explains that bulimia patients binge when anorexic patients perform a phase called purging, which is overusing laxatives, diet pills, and other drugs.
- Compares bulimia and anorexia, and explains the three steps involved in treating them.
- Explains that bulimia and anorexia have many similarities and differences from social, physical, mental, and health differences. eating disorders should be announced daily to show the world about the effect it has on young people today.
- Explains that bulimia and anorexia have clear social, physical, mental, and health differences. both eating disorders can be a result of family or social standards that people view as the ideal way to look.
929 wordsRead More - Adolescent Eating Disordersexplanatory essayIn 1978, Brunch called anorexia nervosa a 'new disease' and noted that the condition seemed to overtake ?the daughters of the well-to-do, educated and successful families.? Today it is acknowledged and accepted that anorexia affects more than just one gender or socio-economic class; however, much of the current research is focused on the female gender. ?Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and obsessive exercising. The weight loss eventually produces a variety of physical symptoms associated with starvation: sleep disturbance, cessation of menstruation, insensitivity to pain, loss of hair on the head, low blood pressure, a variety of cardiovascular problems and reduced body temperature. Between 10% and 15% of anorexics literally starve themselves to death; others die because of some type of cardiovascular dysfunction (Bee and Boyd, 2001).?
In this essay, the author
- Opines that school sports are essential to a healthy, active life-style.
- Describes bee, h., and boyd, d. physical and cognitive development in adolescence.
- Explains that anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and obsessive exercise.
- Explains that 5% of all anorexics and bulimics are boys, and that more research is needed to determine whether a link between eating disorders and homosexuality exists.
- Cites elkins, cohen, koralewicz, and taylor, s. n. (2004). after school activities, obesity amoung inner city youth.
1663 wordsRead More