Types of eating disorders

Many people with anorexia nervosa They see themselves as overweight, even when they are thin. Eating, food and weight control become an obsession. People with anorexia nervosa usually weigh themselves several times, ration food carefully, and eat only very small amounts of certain foods. However, some people with anorexia nervosa go through episodes of binge eating followed by extreme dieting and/or excessive exercise, self-induced vomiting, and abuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas.

Some people with anorexia nervosa recover with treatment after the first episode. Others improve, but have relapses. Still others suffer from a more chronic form or longer-term anorexia nervosa, in which their health worsens as they fight the disease.

Bulimia nervosa is characterized by frequent, recurrent episodes of eating extremely large amounts of food and a feeling of lack of control over these episodes. This binge eating is followed by a type of behavior that compensates for the excess eating, such as forced vomiting or abuse of laxatives or diuretics, fasting and/or excessive exercise, or a combination of these behaviors.

Unlike anorexia nervosa, people with bulimia nervosa generally maintain what is considered a healthy weight or while some are slightly overweight. Like those with anorexia nervosa, these people are afraid of gaining weight, desperately want to lose weight, and feel very dissatisfied with the shape and size of their body. Bulimic behavior is usually secretive, as it is accompanied by a feeling of indignation or shame. The binge and purge cycle can occur several times a week and even several times a day.