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Author:
Thomas Morva

Though bulimia is classified as an eating disorder, not everyone with bulimia feels like they have a disorder. Some view bulimia and anorexia as lifestyles—chosen lifestyles.

People with bulimia and anorexia are terrified or shamed by the thought of getting fat or even eating. They have an unhealthy body image and feel that, no matter how they actually look, they are overweight. People with bulimia may binge on food, but then they either vomit after meals, abuse laxatives, or exercise excessively. People with anorexia starve themselves. Ninety percent of eating disorders are in women, many in their teens.

Pro-bulimia and pro-anorexia groups reside on the Internet. Web sites and message boards run by mostly teenage girls are devoted to “Ana,” short for “anorexia,” and “Mia,” short for “bulimia.” Many of these Web sites use nutritional information to plan diets like, for example, how to eat the needed requirements of vitamins and minerals in the fewest of calories. Other sections teach the reader how to eat the fewest calories in a day, how to hide anorexia or bulimia from other people, and other information to, essentially, make having an eating disorder more efficient.

To the people who are pro-bulimia and pro-anorexia, eating disorders are a choice. Many Web sites include pages dedicated to “thinsperation,” quotes, art, and pictures of skinny or obese people to encourage readers to lose weight. The Web sites are support groups to the people who use them.

Many people, however, find the pro-bulimia and pro-anorexia pages disturbing. Eating disorder treatment professionals have debated how to best handle the people who view their eating disorder as a lifestyle. Some have argued that these Web sites should be shut down, but others say this will not fix the problem, and that women have been talking about weight with each other for ages.

The best solution to these Web sites, many professionals say, is to try to change the culture that creates women who feel too fat. Young women—and men—should be praised for their accomplishments, not their appearance. Healthy appetites and body images should be encouraged, and teenagers should receive love and support from the adults close to them.

About the author:
Bulimia Info provides detailed information about the causes, symptoms, and effects of bulimia; bulimia treatment and recovery; the relationship between anorexia and bulimia; and information about the “pro bulimia” viewpoint. Bulimia Info is affiliated with Original Content.

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Eating Disorders... Eating Disorder - Bulimia Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder caused by a person's feelings of low self-esteem, worthlessness and depression. They view themselves as being fat and overweight, which causes them to resort to bizarre eating habits in order to lose weight. The bulimic will binge eat and then purge. This habit after awhile becomes addictive and they fall into a pattern of bingeing as a way to cope with their negative feelings about themselves. The bulimic binge consists of a large amount of food intake with a high calorie count, usually eaten in private away from other people. They will eat sweets and foods high in fat. Although some binges are planned, most are spur-of-the-moment, being triggered by an emotional outburst of a happening in their live that sinks them into a depression. They use food as a comfort, stuffing themselves and then vomiting. This practice can happen several times a day. The eating binge tends to have a numbing effect on their feelings, with a feeling of anger toward themselves shortly afterward. They are ashamed of their actions and realize they have lost control, which further contributes to their feelings of low self-esteem. This feeling of shame causes them to be reluctant to admit their problem to anyone and to seek help for their condition. The self-induced vomiting is done to compensate for their binges. They are relieved of the full feeling from eating too much food and expect the vomiting to prevent any weight gain from the binge. They also use laxatives, enemas, diet pills, fasts and extreme exercise in order to prevent weight gain. In some cases they will chew their food and then spit it out without swallowing it, thinking this will prevent any weight gain. Like the anorexics, bulimics feel their self-worth is determined by the...