Anorexia Nervosa vs Bulimia Nervosa - Essay Example

People with this disorder, also referred to as Anorexics, are selective in the type of diets they eat and usually eat very small portions of food, in the fear of becoming fat. They also undergo weight checks repeatedly (Nih.gov, 2011).

Anorexics expose themselves to excessive physical exercises and most of the time; they induce themselves to vomit especially after binge eating. Most of the girls and women with Anorexia disorder usually have irregular menstrual periods. Anorexics have a distorted body image and are extremely thin due to serious loss of body weight and their unwillingness to maintain healthy and normal body weight. Other health consequences of anorexia nervosa include brain damage, infertility, severe constipation, muscle loss, fatigue, low blood pressure, depression, heart damage, dryness and yellowing of the skin, and brittle hair and nails, among others. In extreme cases, it can result in death (Avalonhills.org, 2011).

On other hand, as Nih.gov (2011) records, Bulimia nervosa is characterized by recurrent periods of binge eating whereby the victim eats excessively large amounts of food with no control over it. This episode is then followed by behaviors like self-induced vomiting, use of diuretics or laxatives, vigorous exercise, or fasting. Bulimics like eating in secret places and usually visiting bathrooms after taking their meals. Unlike the Anorexics, bulimics tend to maintain healthy body weight while some are a little overweight. Moreover, they are naturally shy. Some health consequences of Bulimia nervosa are similar to those of Anorexia nervosa. In addition, Bulimia nervosa damages the digestive system, which can lead to electrolyte imbalance followed by a heart attack. Swollen salivary glands, sore throat, internal bleeding because of vomiting, severe dehydration, and tooth decay are other medical consequences of Bulimia nervosa (Amjad, 2000). Just like Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa can also lead to death when extreme.

Anorexics and Bulimics also exhibit a difference in their traits. For instance, Anorexics are good students, perfectionists, and obedient to their parents. However, they feel like having control over their lives when they control their weight through restricted diets.  Bulimics on the other hand are always guilty of their habits. They are overweight because of binge consumption of food, from which they become depressed and guilty, afterward forcing them to purge (Amjad, 2000).

Negative emotional states greatly contribute to the development of obesity. This is because many people who suffer from negative emotions like stress, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, boredom, or anger often use food as a coping mechanism for their situations. People with negative emotions may find it more difficult to have adequate physical exercise, maintain a healthy weight, and control the amount of food they consume. Most obese people, when distressed, turn to food to help cope with the situation. Although eating large amounts of food during this period may provide temporary relief from distress, the resulting weight gain may cause dysphoric mood to the victim because they were not able to control their negative emotions fully. The victims may therefore end up developing a habit of using food as a coping mechanism for negative emotions. This leads to more weight gain as a result of accumulated calories in the body, with no physical exercise to burn them (Collins & Bentz, 2009).

According to Konttinen and her co-authors (2010), research conducted on eating disorders revealed that the tendency of uncontrolled eating in response to negative emotions explains why depressed individuals have too much body fat. The report also showed that women are at the highest risk of emotional eating because they often experience negative emotions. However, it is still unclear as to why some people expose themselves to eating large amounts of food in response to negative emotions. Several researchers have tried to suggest some possible mechanisms behind this fact. For instance, some people engage in emotional eating to escape from aversive self-awareness, others over-eat to regulate their emotions, while others engage in binge eating because they are not in a position to distinguish their internal emotions from hunger. This, therefore, gives a possibility of the interconnection between negative emotions and the development of obesity.