Essay on Eating Disorders

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Edgar Allen Poe and His LifeStory

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Education

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Eating Disorders

Nicole awakes in her cold, dark room and already wishes it was time to go

back to bed. She dreads the thought of going through this day, which will be

like so many others in her recent past. She asks herself the question every

morning: “Will I be able to make it through the day without being totally

obsessed by thoughts of food, or will I blow it again and spend the day

bingeing?” She tells herself that today she will begin a new life, today she

will start to live like a normal human being. However, she is not at all

convinced that the choice is hers.

Nicole is one of the thousands of women who suffer from an eating disorder.

These disorders can be compulsive over-eating, bingeing and purging, or

starvation. The most commonly recognized eating disorders in today’s society

are Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa. “They are characterized as psychological

disorders, not just physical abnormalities.”(White 77) A short basic

definition of anorexia would describe it as: “A rare disorder characterized by

marked weight loss, an intense fear of gaining weight, and disturbance in the

experience of body shape.”(Nadelson 21) However, actually suffering through

the disease is much more complicated.

Often, anorexia begins with a period of dieting. The anorexic then begins to

feel unable or unwilling to stop dieting despite dangerous weight loss. “The

results of anorexia nervosa are often terrible to witness.”(Franklin 12) Some

of the signs are obvious to everyone; others can be concealed by the anorexic.

The physical consequences of anorexia can be anything from drying of skin to

altering physical structures of the brain. If untreated, anorexia nervosa can

lead to one final, tragic result: death.(Deitel C5)

Commonly referred to as, “The other eating disorder,” bulimia nervosa is

much “newer” than anorexia–-at least in terms of being recognized as a

distinct medical disorder. “Bulimia causes individuals to exhibit recurrent

episodes of binge eating, engage in inappropriate behavior to avoid weight gain,

for example self-induced vomiting, and are overly concerned with their shape and

weight.”(Sun-Sentinel 1A) Unlike anorexics, bulimics can keep their weight at

or near the normal level for their height and age. Anorexics, because of their

distorted ideas concerning, “ideal weight,” cannot. Bulimics lack the

discipline of anorexics. They can diet and exercise as anorexic people do, but

rather than totally sticking to their program, they periodically go to the

opposite extreme, compulsively devouring food.(Hax 93) Then the guilt of their

action leads them to purge, or vomit their food, and cleanse their system.

Although not as often fatal as anorexia, bulimia has many of the same unpleasant

effects on the body and can lead anywhere from physical weakness to heart

failure.(Sun-Sentinel 1A)

It is possible for a person to suffer from both anorexia and bulimia. It is

estimated that...

Deitel, Bob. “Teens and Eating Disorders.” Washington Post.

January 16, 1994. C5.

Epstein, Rachel. Eating Habits and Disorders. New York:

Chelsea House Publishers, 1990.

Franklin, Melanie. “My Daughter was an Anorexic.” Good

Housekeeping. August 13, 1998, p 12.

Hax, Carolyn. “Food Without Tears.” Newsweek. July 9, 1997. pp

93-95.

Matthews, John R. Eating Disorders. New York: Facts on File,

1991.

Nadelson, Carol. Anorexia Nervosa. New York: Chelsea House,

1999.

“The Other Eating Disorder.” Sun-Sentinel. June 7, 1991. 1A.

White, William. Bulimiarexia. New York: Norton Company, 1983.