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The eating disorders are increasingly common, perhaps because of society’s concerns with thinness and the importance it attaches to him. The eating disorders are multifactorial, with genetic causes, traumatic and nutrition. In North America, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are among the eating disorders most common. They mainly affect women.

Anorexia nervosa is a psychological illness and people who suffer voluntarily deprive themselves of food because they mistakenly believe they are fat, or because they fear being obese. In reality, these people are almost always initially normal weight or underweight. It seems that over 90% of people diagnosed with anorexia nervosa are women, who generally belong to a middle or upper socioeconomic class. This disorder usually occurs between adolescence and early adult life, with an average age of 14. The prevalence of anorexia nervosa is approximately 1 in 100,000 in the general population, but this rate appears to be higher among Caucasian adolescent girls, about 1 in 200.

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by uncontrollable episodes of binge eating or compulsive, usually followed by the use of inappropriate means to eliminate food. In most cases, the affected person seeks to purge his stomach by triggering it even vomiting or using improperly to laxatives, to enemas or diuretics. The disorder is sometimes called binge-eating syndrome. Some people with bulimia do not purge their stomachs, but eat excessively (they can consume up to 20,000 calories at one time), then they offset these excesses by other behaviors such as fasting or excessive exercise . People with bulimia may indulge in bouts of compulsive eating secrets 2 times a week or several times a day. In most cases, they purge themselves after eating. People may take laxatives 20 or more at once.

Bulimia usually begins in late adolescence or upon maturity, but may occur earlier or later. Like anorexia, bulimia predominantly affects young white women belonging to middle or upper class. At one point, approximately 0.5% to 3.7% of women suffer from anorexia and between 1.1% and 4.2% of those with bulimia.

The difference between people with bulimia or anorexia nervosa is that bulimics are aware of their problem, but feel unable to correct their situation. Read the rest of this entry »