Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa Comparison Essay

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are eating disorders that involve serious eating practice that are considered to be very dangerous and even fatal if not corrected. These disorders normally occur as a result failure to lose weight through regular dieting and a desperate desire to lose weight. It is believed that eating disorders are caused by a lack of confidence and satisfaction with one’s self-image and an abnormal desire to fit into the modern day profile of perfect body shape and size. Although they are two separate disorders they share many commonalities and differences. They both are believed to have biological, sociocultural and psychological implications that motivate or stimulate the development of eating disorders (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011). A maladaptive perception of body size and shape is evident in persons suffering from both anorexia and bulimia who believe that they weigh too much and are too fat or too heavy regardless of their actual weight or appearance (Shisslak, Crago, & Pazda, 1990).
The major difference between the two disorders is the criteria established by DSM-IV-TR that defines each disorder; for example with anorexia nervosa, the patient refuses to maintain body weight at or above the minimally weight based on their age and height. They have an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat even though they are underweight. They are in denial of the seriousness of their low body weight and females who have reach menarche experience at least three consecutive absences of their menstrual cycle. Patient with Bulimia nervosa engage in recurrent episodes of binge eating where they eat a larger amount of food than most people would eat in the same amount of time and under the same conditions and similar circumstances. They feel out of control during this time so engage in