Anorexia and bulimia - Assignment Example

Anorexia and bulimia Anorexia and bulimia are very serious eating disorders, and while they have characteristics in common, they also have many attributes that set them apart from one another. The most primary similarity between anorexia and bulimia is that they are equal opportunity disorders (Abraham 2008). There are no specific genders, races, or religious backgrounds that are exempt from developing either of these disorders. Another similarity is that both anorexia and bulimia have the same principle cause, which is low self-esteem, an external cause.

Finally, the resulting health consequences of both disorders are the similar. The differences in the disorders can be seen in the steps leading to the disorders. A person with anorexia consciously does not eat in an attempt to lose weight and achieve their idea of a perfect body. When a person is bulimic, they eat large amounts of food, but they feel guilty about their binging. To make up for their overindulgent eating, they purge, which can take place in the forms of vomiting, excessive exercise, or through the use of laxatives.

Also, it is much easier to detect when a person is anorexic, because they can quickly drop below a normal weight. Bulimia is much harder to notice, as many bulimics appear to have a normal weight or even be overweight. Unless a person with bulimia is caught purging, very little evidence exists to reveal that they have an eating disorder. Low self-esteem and negative self-image can lead to either of these disorders (Moe 1999), but the results are seldom what sufferers expect. The consequences of anorexia and bulimia are not only devastating, but potentially deadly.

People that suffer from either anorexia or bulimia can face heart failure, bone loss, and kidney failure. Anorexia sufferers also risk developing anemia, and people with bulimia can risk tooth decay due to the acids that rise during their purging. Both disorders are capable of resulting in one’s death as their body shuts down due to the abuse that the individual is subjecting it to. ReferencesAbraham, S. (2008). Eating disorders (6th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Moe, B. A. (1999).

Understanding negative body image. New York: Rosen Publishing Group.