Michael W. Wiederman, Tamara Proyor, and C.Don Morgan, conducted a study comparing the sexual experiences of women with bulimia vs. women who suffered anorexia. Similar to this experiment control groups in the past have used bulimics and anorexics (Wiederman et al., 1996a). It had been reported that women who are bulimic have greater sexual activity and experience compared to women with anorexia, and are more likely to engage in sexual intercourse (Wiederman et al., 1996a). In addition reports have stated that “anorexia nervosa was often precipitated by menarche and the initiation of breast development, and that the anorexic individual often had difficulty negotiating heterosexual relationships, ultimately retreating from, or rejecting, the inevitability of becoming a sexually mature woman”(Wiederman et al., 1996a). Because women were not properly menstruating, and were not developing properly (formation of breasts) it became harder for them to having sexual maturity, which then lead them to difficulties in developing sexual relationships. Women with anorexia have also reported to have negative attitudes towards sex, questioning their sexuality, fear of sex itself, and over all less sexual satisfaction (Wiederman et al., 1996a). The study consisted of “450 female patients who were evaluated at their Eating disorder clinic and subsequently diagnosed with either anorexia nervosa, or bulimia nervosa. The patients ranged in age from 11 to 56, with mean ages of 23.16 years for anorexics and 24.58 years for bulimics. All but 12% of the patients were white” (Wiederman et al., 1996a). Participants needed to complete a Diagnostic survey for eating disorders, some of the questions asked were, whether they had every had sexual intercourse ... ... middle of paper ... ...er individual differences in functional links between disordered eating and sexuality” (1996b). John F. Morgan, MRCPsych, J. Hubert Lacey, MD, and Fiona Reid, MSc, conduced research on Anorexia Nervosa: Changes in sexuality During Weight Restoration. They had taken a different approach by experimenting with women who were receiving treatment for their anorexia. Eleven women who had been admitted to the St. George’s Hospital Eating Disorder Unit, for inpatient treatment of anorexia had been selected to participate in the study. The ages of these women had ranged between 18-34, this because of “age-cohort difference in sex drive” (J.F. Morgan et al., 1999). It had been reported in the past that it was common for women to experience loss of sexual interest and enjoyment after they had loss a significant amount of weight. (J.F. Morgan et al., 1999).
Bulimia and anorexia Nervosa, the two most common eating disorders in the world, and neither of them are at all healthy. Even Though bulimia and anorexia are quite similar, they have many differences that set them apart. The main difference between the two is that bulimia is where a person eating an excessive amount of food in a short period of time, followed by purging all of the food out of guilt. Anorexia is where you barely eat, have a strict diet, and workout excessively. Just with a brief description, this just barely scratches the surface of this whole topic of bulimia and anorexia. We will begin by looking at the similarities of bulimia and anorexia.
Considering the growing preoccupation of teenage girls with their weight and their bodies, eating disorders have become even more of a concern. In light of the fact that mortality in anorexia nervosa is among the highest of all psychiatric disorders, it is increasingly important to understand what causes eating disorders and how best to treat them (Herzog et al., 1996). A meaningful area of research to consider when trying to understand eating disorders is comorbidity. Such psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders, affective disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse have been found to coexist, at least to some degree, with the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. This paper will examine how anxiety disorders have been found to interact with both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Research on eating disorders has revealed a greater incidence of substance use and/or misuse in women with eating disorders than in the general population. Most of the research agrees that substance misuse is more common in patients with bulimia nervosa and the binge eating/purging subtype of patients with anorexia than in women with the restricting subtype of anorexia nervosa. Researchers and specialists have proposed a range of theories to account for the strong association between substance misuse and bulimia nervosa. Experiments have not provided evidence to conclusively support any one theory. However, studies conducted in the past decade have enabled researchers to refine their hypotheses and accumulate more accurate information about eating disorders and substance use. Researchers have examined personality characteristics, family history, and biological and environmental factors common to persons with both substance use problems and eating disorders. In addition, the onset of eating disorders in relation to the beginning of substance abuse are examined to determine if one disorder drives the other. Differences in characteristics of patients with anorexia nervosa and patients with bulimia nervosa are examined to determine differences in rates of comorbidity with substance abuse. While continued research is necessary to assess the validity of proposed theories, the current knowledge proposes some interesting ideas about the relationship between substance abuse and eating disorders.
It seems somewhat logical to assume that a person who has experienced sexual trauma might develop feelings of dissatisfaction as well as disgust with their own body—the medium of abuse. Also, one might even attribute the anti-pubertal effects achieved through self-starvation as a suppression of sexuality that may be desired by a survivor of sexual abuse. These hypotheses, as well as connections observed between sexual abuse and PTSD and also between anxiety disorders (of which PTSD is one) and eating disorders led many researchers to study this relationship. However, the large body of the studies contradict each other’s findings. Many studies have found no evidence of a relationship between sexual abuse and eating disorders and others have found evidence. In this paper, I would like to examine the results of studies that have been aimed at answering the question, “Is childhood sexual abuse a risk factor for eating disorders?”
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa affect millions of people each year in the United States (1). Popular thought holds that these disorders are caused by women trying to fulfill a culturally imposed ideal body image which stresses thinness. As anorexia and bulimia have proven difficult to treat solely with a psychological-based treatment plan it is likely that there are many factors contributing to these disorders. Research has shown, however, that there is a significant biological component which leads to a manifestation of these disorders (2). Current ideas on the biological origins of anorexia and bulimia will be explored in this paper. These include areas ranging from genetic factors to neurotransmitter and hormone imbalances. Genetics appears to play a significant role in predisposing a person to developing an eating disorder. Abnormal neurotransmitter levels have been shown to exist in people with both bulimia and anorexia. Hormone functioning and levels are also atypical in people with eating disorders. While most studies focus on one area, and usually on just one neurotransmitter or hormone, the different biological causes of eating disorders seem to be related to one another. How these possible biological causes influences the I-function (which is the term for the components of the nervous system which give a sense of being oneself) will be examined as well in this paper. Anorexia nervosa is described as a disorder in which women and men intentionally starve themselves, losing at least fifteen percent of their normal body weight. This self imposed emaciation usually begins during puberty and is most common among middle to upper class Caucasian women, affecti...
In 1978, Brunch called anorexia nervosa a 'new disease' and noted that the condition seemed to overtake ?the daughters of the well-to-do, educated and successful families.? Today it is acknowledged and accepted that anorexia affects more than just one gender or socio-economic class; however, much of the current research is focused on the female gender. ?Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and obsessive exercising. The weight loss eventually produces a variety of physical symptoms associated with starvation: sleep disturbance, cessation of menstruation, insensitivity to pain, loss of hair on the head, low blood pressure, a variety of cardiovascular problems and reduced body temperature. Between 10% and 15% of anorexics literally starve themselves to death; others die because of some type of cardiovascular dysfunction (Bee and Boyd, 2001).?
People with anorexia, who are usually adolescent, drop significantly below normal weight. Despite this fact, they feel fat, fear being fat, continue to obsess over losing weight and sometimes exercise excessively (Meyers). Anorexia nervosa can be associated with perfectionism, pleasing others, wanting attention, emotional insecurity, stressful situations, and many other underlying causes (Meyers). Anorexia is particularly threatening to physical health because so many patients are prone to relapse. Therefore, early identification and treatment of anorexia nervosa is essential to take advantage of patients’ chances for recovery (Meyers). In order for this identification to take place, the public must be properly informed about anorexia in a captivating, yet accurate
Sexuality is another issue that feminist Naomi Wolf explores in an effort to understand the prevalence of eating disorders among women. "Fat is sexual in women. . . to ask women to become unnaturally thin is to ask them to relinquish their sexuality" (Wolf, 193). Women who develop eating disorders, especially anorexia, are denying their sexuality and natural female b...
ANAD. “Eating Disorders Statistics”. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, Inc., 2013.Web. 18 Nov 2013.
Although childhood sexual abuse has been underreported, as much as 20% of the general population has been estimated to be a victim of some form of sexual abuse (Goldfarb, 1987), suggesting that a significant amount of data have been collected and cases has been solved. Thompson (1994) mentions that there was little attention on the relationship between child sexual abuse and eating disorders, until the mid-1980s (p. 46). The public became more aware of how prevalence child sexual abuse and eating disorders are among women when studies found that ten times as many females as males are reported to be victims of sexual abuse and the same female-dominated ratio reported in cases of anorexia nervosa and bulimia (Goldfarb, 1987). As we have seen there are many contributing risking factors that influence the way children deal with sexual abuse. When a child is sexually abuse they are literally being stripped away from their bodies which result in them not doing some of the things they usually do. Having this feeling and being afraid can send someone to look for ways to escape. As a result eating disorders begin to develop because just like people who suffer from sexual abuse those who suffer from eating disorders also want to leave their bodies. The only solution becomes food as a source of comfort. Researchers suggest that sexual abuse produces confusion and make children afraid of their abuser. In fact, one study reported to feelings of self-esteem, worthlessness, humiliation, and depression (Goldfarb, 1987, Thompson, 1994; & Waller, 1991), which is feelings associated with those who suffer from eating disorders, can rise when children encounter this trauma. Children become afraid and confused of what had occurred thus lead th...
Out of all mental illnesses found throughout the world, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. Anorexia nervosa is one of the more common eating disorders found in society, along with bulimia nervosa. Despite having many definitions, anorexia nervosa is simply defined as the refusal to maintain a normal body weight (Michel, 2003). Anorexia nervosa is derived from two Latin words meaning “nervous inability to eat” (Frey, 2002). Although anorexics, those suffering from anorexia, have this “nervous inability to eat,” it does not mean that they do not have an appetite—anorexics literally starve themselves. They feel that they cannot trust or believe their perceptions of hunger and satiation (Abraham, 2008). Anorexics lose at least 15 percent of normal weight for height (Michel, 2003). This amount of weight loss is significant enough to cause malnutrition with impairment of normal bodily functions and rational thinking (Lucas, 2004). Anorexics have an unrealistic view of their bodies—they believe that they are overweight, even if the mirror and friends or family say otherwise. They often weigh themselves because they possess an irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming obese (Abraham, 2008). Many anorexics derive their own self-esteem and self-worth from body weight, size, and shape (“Body Image and Disordered Eating,” 2000). Obsession with becoming increasingly thinner and limiting food intake compromises the health of individuals suffering from anorexia. No matter the amount of weight they lose or how much their health is in jeopardy, anorexics will never be satisfied with their body and will continue to lose more weight.
Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa are described as psychological eating disorders (Keel and Levitt, 1). They are both characterized by an over evaluation of weight. Despite being primarily eating disorders, the manifestations of bulimia and anorexia are different. They both present a very conspicuous example of dangerous psychological disorders, as according to the South Carolina Department of Health, “Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness” (Eating Order Statistics, 1). While Bulimia and anorexia both psychological disorders primarily prevalent in women, anorexia tend to have different diagnostic complexities, symptoms and physiological effects as compared to bulimia.
Bingeing and Purging could be associated with low self-esteem about the body image and studies have found out that child sexual abuse victims experience low self-esteem. Therefore, child sexual abuse has a higher risk of Bingeing and Purging than non-sexual abuse victims. Moreover, the author mentioned that bulimic bingeing and purging is highly seen among sexual abuse victims than anorexia nervosa that shows less relevant to sexual molestation.
However, what eating disorders are prevalent in the LGB communities? There have been a multitude of studies looking at whether homosexuality is a risk factor for eating disorders, and looking at what eating disorder present in the LGB communities. A study was conducted looking at the sexual orientation among in cis-identifying adolescents and how sexual orientation can correlate with body image specifically weight concern and eating disordered habits (Austin, S. B., Ziyadeh, N., Kahn, J. A., Camargo, C. J., Colditz, G. A., & Field, A. E., 2004). They used data from the Nurses’ health study in 1999. This study showed that there was more of a concern of appearance and weigh concern within the heterosexual participates. Also the study showed a correlation between more likely body satisfaction in homosexual and bisexual females. Overall this study concluded that the other study showed that identifying as homosexual or bisexual is not a risk factor in terms of eating disorders. Since, homosexuality is not consider a risk factor for eating disorders, is there higher prevalence for certain eating disorders in LGB women compared to heterosexual women. A study conducted by Karen Heffernan (1996), examined data from 203 women using questionnaires to determine if there were any disorder with a higher prevalence in homosexual women. The
114 of the participants were Caucasian. They were evaluated using the DSM-III-R criteria. The study took place at a university-based outpatient eating disorder clinic. Clinicians gave each participant a 2 hour long diagnostic evaluation, all clinician were knowledgeable and experienced in the field of treatment of eating disorders. They diagnosed 59 of the participants with anorexia nervosa and 58 of the participants with bulimia nervosa. Those who met both of the criteria were placed in the anorexia nervosa group. After confirming each participant’s diagnosis, they completed a 24-paged instrument regarding substance use. They were asked to answer question on the use of eight different drugs: alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, hallucinogens, marijuana, tranquilizers, cocaine, and cigarettes. After that, they tested for impulse behaviors using a self-reported history. They test specifically for suicide attempts, self-injurious behavior, stealing, and sexual intercourse. Some examples of questions they asked include: “Have you ever tried to physically hurt yourself (examples of this include cutting yourself, hitting yourself with intent to hurt, burning yourself with cigarettes.)?” or “Have you ever stolen items related to eating or weight (examples of this include food, laxatives, diet pills