Anorexia Nervosa And Bulimia Nervosa - 1452 Words

An eating disorder is defined as any range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits. In the United States alone, 10 to 20 million men and women have suffered from an eating disorder. Eating disorders have the highest death rate of any other mental disorder. Researchers say that one in every ten person who has an eating disorder will die from it. Eating disorders can kill the victims if it is not treated in time. People who have eating disorders begin to experience deterioration of their bodies. The two major types of eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. One of the descriptions of anorexia nervosa was during the 12th and 13th centuries. A woman, Saint Catherine of Siena, ceased†¦show more content†¦People who suffer from anorexia nervosa obsess over controlling their weight and shape; they also resort to extreme measures to lose weight that interfere with their everyday life. To stop from gaining weight people with anorexia restrict their calorie intake and exercise excessively. They burn more calories than they consume so that they can stay underweight if they are not already. Anorexia usually develops because of psychological, environmental, and social factors. It can also develop based on biological factors. People who have a family history of anorexia are more likely to develop this disorder. Things like models, magazines, and advertisements can be pressuring to women and cause them to feel inadequate. Anorexics typically are people who are perfectionists and overachievers. Twenty-one year old Katie Metcalfe overcame her eating disorder. At the age of 14 her battle with anorexia began. She says, â€Å"I was at a Rudolf Steiner school in Botton Village, near Whitby, in a class with three other boys. The pressure of being the only girl with hormone-raging teenagers was enormous. I had no self-confidence, and my body became a focus of paranoia.† (Metcalfe, 2014). The amount of stress in her life made her life more difficult than a typical 14-year-old teenage girl. Her parents were having trouble in their marriage and they