Anorexia Vs. Bulimia Nervosa - 1200 Words

Anorexia vs. Bulimia In our culture today, people concerned with the way they look to a high extent, how much they weight, their physical appearances and how to change a body part they do not like. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are eating disorders that affect a person’s weight to an extreme due to wanting to be thinner when in reality they are already thin to the bone. Both disorders have their similarities and differences from their main obsession of body weight to how they try to lose it. Anorexia nervosa is a disorder discovered by the English doctor Richard Martin. Anorexia is a distortion of one’s body image and intense fear of gaining weight. There is a lack of menstruation for at least three months among females. People†¦show more content†¦The basic metabolic response to starvation is to conserve body tissues and energy. However, the body will also start to use its own tissue, including muscle and organs, for energy since the body has no food to use. The liver and intestines will usually lose the highest percentage of their own weight during starvation, followed by the heart and the kidneys; they both lose a descent amount of weight. Further effects of anorexia nervosa may include kidneys stones and even kidney failure. Treatment for anorexia can include both medical treatment and/or psychological counseling. A person with anorexia may be treated in an outpatient setting, or hospitalization might also be necessary. When someone has had a great amount of weight loss that has impaired organ function, hospital treatment must primarily focus on malnutrition; tube feeding that goes past the mouth may be required. One to three pounds per week is reasonable weight gain when nutrition must be improved. For individuals who have suffered from anorexia for several years, the goals of treatment may need to be achieved more slowly in order to prevent the anorexia sufferer from relapsing as a result of being overwhelmed by treatment. Bulimia was discovered by Prof. Gerald Russell in the year 1979, when he was serving at the Royal Free Hospital in London. His discovery gained official recognition as a serious disorder by the American Psychiatric