PSYCH257 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Binge Eating, Bulimia Nervosa, Subtyping

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH257
• Professor: Pamela Seeds

Document Summary

Both anorexia and bulimia are characterized by a morbid fear of gaining weight and losing control over eating. The major diff erence seems to be whether the individual is successful at losing weight. People with anorexia are proud of both their diets and their extraordinary control, and they usu ally do not see themselves as having an illness. People with bulimia are ashamed of both the problem itself and their lack of control, and they tend to be secretive about the ir bulimic symptom. Bulimia nervosa is more common than anorexia, but they have a great deal of overlap. For example, many individuals with bulim ia have a history of anorexia; that is, they once used fasting to reduce their body weight below desirable levels. In the restricting type, individuals diet to limit calorie intake; in the binge-eating/purging type, they rely on purging.