Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa
The two most common types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, more commonly known as anorexia and bulimia. The two disorders can be difficult to distinguish from each other because they have similar characteristics: With both anorexia and bulimia, the person will have a distorted image of his or her body. That person will seem to be obsessed with what he or she eats.
Both anorexia and bulimia tend to affect girls more than guys, but 10% of the people with eating disorders are guys. And, because we typically think of eating disorders as only affecting girls, they often go unrecognized in guys. Guys with eating disorders also tend to focus more on athletic appearance or success than on just looking thin.
People with anorexia have an intense fear of being fat. When a person has anorexia, he or she hardly eats at all - and the small amount of food that is eaten becomes an obsession. A person with anorexia may weigh food before eating it or compulsively count the calories of everything. It is not unusual for a person with anorexia to also exercise excessively in an attempt to lose weight.
A unique feature of anorexia is not only the strong desire to be very thin, but also the altered body perception that goes with it. Even though they might be shedding pounds at a dangerous rate, people with anorexia don't see themselves as thin. A person with the condition can look in the mirror and actually see a fat person.Bulimia is a bit different from anorexia because the person with bulimia doesn't avoid eating. Instead, he or she eats a large amount of food then gets rid of it quickly by vomiting or taking laxatives. This is commonly known as "binge and purge" behavior. Like anorexia, bulimia tends to affect girls and young women more than guys. Unlike anorexia, you can't always tell by looking whether a person has bulimia. In fact, someone with bulimia may appear average or even above average in weight.