• It is estimated that anorexia affects approximately 0.5 percent of adolescent girls, and bulimia in about 1 to 2 percent, although various symptoms and milder versions of these disorders occur in about 5 to 10 percent of young women.
• The vast majority of women with eating disorders are white, but in recent years, the disorder has increased in minority women.

Several factors may play a role in causing anorexia and bulimia, including:

• A familial predisposition to these disorders,
• Individual personality characteristics.
• Anorexia nervosa is also associated with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, such as a preoccupation with thoughts of food,
• Mood disorders like depression or social anxiety, are associated with bulimia nervosa.

People with anorexia and bulimia feel driven to reduce their weight, usually by diet (deliberately restricting their food intake). As such, both individuals and their fight against their bodies’ natural hunger signals, and other biological factors that control eating and body weight. (Nervosa means nervous.) Bulimia means “hungry ox,” referring to the large amount of food consumed during binge episodes . People with bulimia are not as successful dieting and anorexia nervosa. Binge eating may also result from reduced satiety (feeling of fullness).

• Anorexia involves people who intentionally starve themselves when they are already underweight.
• People with anorexia have a body weight that is 15 percent or more below the recommended levels (as determined by a standard height-weight table).
• Purging can also take place.

On the other hand for bulimia nervosa,

• Bulimia refers to people who consume large amounts of food during “binge” episodes in which they lose the sense of control over their eating.
• People with bulimia, such as those with anorexia are very dissatisfied with their shape and weight, and their self-esteem is unduly influenced by their appearance.

Anorexia and bulimia sometimes overlap. A minority of persons with anorexia engage in binge eating and / or purging. This contrasts with the “restriction” anorexics who maintain their low body weight by diet alone.

What makes this control of calories and food destructive is that the ideal weight being sought is generally far below a truly healthy weight. If you are anorexic, you need treatment. It can be seriously unhealthy, or even life-threatening, to be anorexic.

With some treatment, you can live a normal and healthy life. Here are a few options that may help:

Family behavioral therapy is often very helpful. Generally, when there is a person with anorexia in the family, other family members have to start controlling the eating habits of the affected person. This has to stay this way until the person who suffers from anorexia is back to a healthy weight. At that point they can once again control their own eating.

If you are worried you may be anorexic, you will want to seek medical treatment. Ask yourself if you are starving to try to be fit. If so, this is a problem. Your doctor can evaluate your condition and treat any underlying causes that may be encouraging the anorexia.

Meeting with a registered dietician will also be helpful to the treatment of anorexia. A registered dietician can give you nutritional counseling to help you learn about what is healthy eating. You need to know the proper ways to fuel your body for health.

Parents of an anorexic child will likely be instructed to go to joint therapy sessions. This is so all people understand the nature of the disorder and so that parents know how to change their child’s eating patterns. Parents will need to monitor the child’s food intake and also their exercise habits, and to prepare the meals for their child.

Anorexia nervosa is a dangerous health condition. It should not be taken lightly. If you have or suspect you have anorexia nervosa, seek help from a medical professional.

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This can lead to the worsening of the eating disorder, which can lead to major issues. There are multiple serious issues that many ignore, simply because they have yet to deal with them, or the person that they know is not dealing with them.

Sometimes, you may not be the person who is going through the eating disorder. Sometimes, you are thinking about the eating disorder treatment for someone that you know and care about. Many people underestimate the seriousness of the situation, or may feel uncomfortable with recommending an eating disorder treatment center for someone that they know.

With that being said, there are still multiple people who are not sure that eating disorder treatment is the course of action that is needed. This is unfortunate, as many people fail to hear the positive stories of those who have gone through eating disorder treatment and are better off because of it.

If you know that someone has lost a lot of weight, or has gained a lot of weight, you may want to talk to them about an eating disorder treatment. If you simply realize, or have confirmation, of someone you know and love who has any type of eating disorder, you should think about recommendations.

For additional information on the eating disorder treatment program at Sunset Malibu, please call Sunset Malibu anytime at 1-800-332-9202. As with all co-occurring disorders, Sunset Malibu treats eating disorders as a co-occurring disorder with drug and or alcohol abuse.

Sunset Malibu offers private eating disorder treatment centers in Malibu, California. To learn more about eating disorders treatment visit www.drugrehabsunsetmalibu.com.