Defining Characteristics of Anorexia:

Individuals with anorexia nervosa are unwilling or unable to maintain a body weight that is normal or expectable for their age and height (most clinicians use 85% of normal weight as a guide). Individuals with anorexia nervosa typically display a pronounced fear of weight gain and a dread of becoming fat although they are dramatically underweight. Concerns and perceptions about their weight have a extremely powerful influence and impact on their self-evaluation. The seriousness of the weight loss and its physical effects is minimized or denied.
People who suffer from anorexia often have low self-esteem and a tremendous need to control their surroundings and emotions. The eating disorder is often a reaction to external and internal conflicts (i.e. anxiety, stress, and unhappiness can be leading factors).

Defining Characteristics of Bulimia:

Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by a highly secretive cycle of binge eating followed by purging. Bulimia includes eating large amounts of food (more than most people would eat in a meal) in a short period, then getting rid of the food and calories through vomiting, excessive exercise, or laxative abuse. The bulimic's self-evaluation is centered on the individual's perceptions of his/her body image. Concerns about weight and shape are characteristic of those with bulimia nervosa.

Defining Characteristics of Binge Eating Disorder:

Binge eating disorder is a relatively recently recognized disorder (it is sometimes referred to as compulsive overeating).  Some researchers believe it is the most common of the eating disorders affecting millions of Americans. Similar to bulimia nervosa, those with binge eating disorder frequently consume large amounts of food while feeling a lack of control over their eating. However, this disorder is different from bulimia nervosa because people with binge eating disorder usually do not purge (i.e. vomiting, laxatives, excessive exercise, etc) their bodies of the excess food they consume during a binge episode. 

Defining Characteristics of Compulsive Eating:

Compulsive eating is any eating out of relation to physiological hunger and satiation. This means that anytime one eats for reasons other than hunger or bringing hunger to satiation, we say that eating was compulsive in nature. Which is to say, we all eat compulsively at times (i.e. for reasons other than physiological hunger).

People with eating problems, however, eat compulsively consistently and feel terrible shame about both the behavior and the effects of the behavior (perceived or real) on their body size. In fact, each compulsive eating episode tends to be accompanied by a great deal of shame. Indeed it could be said that shame is the main ingredient that turns a "normal" experience of compulsive eating into a repetitive anguished pattern. 

 

 

 

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