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Beyond Anorexia and Bulimia
Eating Disorders Not Specified
By Sue Marquette Poremba
Katie* is in her third semester of college and she's beginning to get frustrated with her life. "I am taking 15 credit hours, working two jobs, hold an internship, belong to a service organization, play on a women's soccer team and take improv acting classes," she says. "I expect a lot out of myself. Food and eating is a release for me. I let myself lose control and eat anything and everything. Afterwards, I need to regain control and purge. Now I feel guilty after I eat anything. I usually vomit three times a day."
She's hidden her eating disorder from her family because she doesn't want anyone to think she is vulnerable, but she understands that she needs help. "It's not a weight issue," she says. "But it is scary how much of my thoughts and actions are devoted to thinking about eating and getting rid of food."
Sarah's* eating disorder stems from her need to control everything around her. She was a competitive runner and as a high school freshman, she had the natural curves of a girl going from child to womanhood. She felt the curves were slowing her down, so she began to focus on losing weight. "I became obsessive about exercise," she says. "If I ate something, I went running." When she was 16, her parents stepped in and forced her into therapy. It likely saved her life.
There are specific criteria to be diagnosed as anorexic or bulimic, says Dr. Jennifer Nardozzi, assistant clinical director of the Renfrew Center of Florida. To be diagnosed with anorexia, the patient needs to be at 85 percent or less of expected body weight, a fear of gaining weight, unhealthy view of their weight (thinking they are fat when they are severely underweight), and for women, three months of a missed menstrual cycle. There are two types of anorexia: restricting (decreasing calories to lose weight) and engaging in purging behaviors.