Anorexia and bulimia are eating, psychological and image disorders in which people have a complicated relationship with food, which can cause several complications for the person’s health if not identified and treated.
While in anorexia the person does not eat for fear of gaining weight, despite the fact that most of the time the person is below the ideal weight for their age and height, in bulimia the person eats everything they want, but then causes themselves to vomit out of guilt. or remorse you feel, afraid of gaining weight.
Despite being similar in some aspects, anorexia and bulimia are different disorders and must be properly differentiated so that the treatment is most appropriate.
1. Anorexia
Anorexia is an eating, psychological and image disorder in which the person sees themselves as fat, despite being underweight or at their ideal weight and, because of this, the person starts to have very restrictive behaviors in relation to food, such as for example:
- Refusing to eat or expressing a constant fear of gaining weight;
- Eating very little and always having little or no appetite;
- Always be on a diet or count all the calories in food;
- Regularly practice physical activity with the sole intention of losing weight.
Those who suffer from this disease tend to try to hide the problem, which is why they will try to hide that they are not eating, sometimes faking their food intake or avoiding family lunches or dinners with friends, for example.
Furthermore, in a more advanced stage of the disease, there may also be an impact on the person’s body and metabolism, resulting, in most cases, in malnutrition, which leads to the appearance of other signs and symptoms such as absence of menstruation, constipation, abdominal pain, difficulty tolerating the cold, lack of energy or tiredness, swelling and heart changes.
It is important that the signs and symptoms of anorexia are identified so that treatment can be started immediately, preventing complications. Understand how anorexia is treated.
2. Bulimia
Bulimia is also an eating disorder, however in this case the person almost always has a normal weight for their age and height or is slightly above and wants to lose weight.
Normally, people with bulimia eat whatever they want, but then end up feeling guilty and, therefore, practice intense physical activity, vomit immediately after meals or use laxatives to prevent weight gain. The main characteristics of bulimia are:
- Desire to lose weight, even when you don’t need to;
- Exaggerated desire to eat some foods;
- Exaggerated physical exercise with the intention of losing weight;
- Excessive food intake;
- Constant need to always go to the bathroom after eating;
- Regular use of laxatives and diuretics;
- Weight loss despite appearing to eat a lot;
- Feelings of anguish, guilt, regret, fear and shame after overeating.
Those who have this disease always tend to try to hide the problem and therefore often eat everything they can think of in secret, often not being able to control themselves.
Furthermore, due to the frequent use of laxatives and stimulation of vomiting, some other signs and symptoms may also occur, such as changes in the teeth, a feeling of weakness or dizziness, frequent inflammation in the throat, abdominal pain and swelling of the cheeks, as the salivary glands can become swollen or atrophied. See more about bulimia.
How to differentiate anorexia and bulimia
To distinguish between these two diseases, it is necessary to focus on their main differences, as although they may seem very different, they can be easily confused. Thus, the main differences between these diseases include:
Both anorexia and bulimia, as they are eating and psychological disorders, require specialized medical monitoring, requiring therapy sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist and regular consultations with a nutritionist so that nutritional deficiencies can be checked and a relationship can be established. healthier with food.
