ANOREXIA NERVOSA
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Someone who is anorexic
goes on a very strict diet, cutting out any food that they feel might cause them
to put on weight. They lose weight dramatically and many get dangerously thin.
However, despite this they feel that they need to lose more weight and often
cannot return to normal eating because of a fear that they will gain weight and
become fat. Anorexia can be very dangerous, particularly in those who also make
themselves sick or take laxatives. It causes more deaths than any other
psychiatric disorder.
BULIMIA
NERVOSA
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Those who suffer from bulimia also try to restrict their eating
very strictly, typically classifying certain foods as ‘forbidden’ or ‘bad’ foods
which they should not eat. They plan a diet made up entirely of ‘good’ foods
(generally very low calorie or low fat). These periods of strict dieting are
broken up by times when they lose control entirely, and binge, eating large
quantities, often of those ‘forbidden’ foods. Finally, in an attempt to avoid
gaining weight because of the binge, they purge, using various methods to try to
get rid of the food they have eaten. These can include making themselves sick,
taking laxatives or diet pills, starving themselves for subsequent days or even
excessive exercising. Sufferers are usually at or near normal weight, and this
disorder can continue for years in secret.
BINGE EATING DISORDER
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This describes someone who shows the criteria for Bulimia but
does not do anything after a binge to try to get rid of the food they have
eaten. They therefore tend to be overweight.
Once again, binge eating disorder is very secretive and many
sufferers never get any help and suffer in silence for years.
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