he most commonly recognized are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, with both primarily associated with women, and even more specifically with adolescent girls.
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by excessive, even life-threatening, weight loss (Kinoy and Holman, 1992). Individuals who are diagnosed as anorexic appear to have a distorted image of their own bodies, frequently describing themselves as "fat", even when they are starving to death and existing in an emaciated condition. Perfectionism is also a major characteristic of the anorexic individual, along with the desire to completely control the body. This quality of perfectionism and control makes certain populations of elite female athletes, such as gymasts, particularly susceptible to developing the disorder. Some of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa include the following:
3. Weight loss of at least 15 percent of expected body weight;
4. Refusal to maintain normal weight;
5. Cessation of the menstrual cycle;
7. Compulsive and obsessive behaviors related to weight and exercise;
8. Appearance of depression (Kinoy and Holman, 1992).
In bulimia, on the other hand, there is less distortion in body image, but an equally strong emphasis on control and the fear of being out of control. The bulimic attempts to control body size through the regular use of purging techniques after recurrent episodes of binge eating (Kinoy and Holman, 1992). Thus, the bulimic does not attempt to control the attempt, or the intake of food as extremely as the anorexic, but deals with controlling the body through cathartic methods that are purgative.
Bulimic individuals are also generally female, and seem to develop the problem in late adolescence or early adulthood. They generally remain within normal weight range, unlike the anorexic or obese individual. Both anorexics and bulimics seem to have low self-esteem and low interest in sexual expression. both experience periods of ...