Anorexia Nervosa – A disruption in normal eating habits characterized by self starvation and an excessive weight loss, and an all-consuming fear of becoming “fat”. Individuals with Anorexia are unwilling or unable to maintain a body weight that is normal or expected for their age and height. There is an intense preoccupation with food and body size, which may involve compulsive exercising. Some people with anorexia starve themselves to death, and others are able to maintain a steady but seriously underweight condition. Concerns and perceptions about their weight have an extremely powerful influence and impact on their self evaluation. The seriousness of the weight loss and its physical effects in minimized or denied. In all cases, even those who achieve severe weight loss; the perception of being “fat” does not diminish.

Bulimia Nervosa – is a severe, life threatening disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by self induced vomiting or other purging methods (e.g. laxatives, diuretics, excessive exercise, fasting) in an attempt to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating or to avoid weight gain. There is a variation in the nature of the overeating but the typical episode of overeating involves the consumption of an amount of food that would be considered excessive in normal circumstances. Individuals with Bulimia are dominated by a sense of lack of control over the eating and self evaluation is centered on the individual’s perceptions of his/her body image. A Bulimic may engage in self starvation between binge-purge episodes thus presenting the same dangers as the anorexic, in addition to the one presented by the binging and purging.

Binge Eating Disorder – is a recently recognized disorder (sometimes referred to as compulsive overeating) and is characterized by a cycle of uncontrollable eating and consequent weight gain. Similar to Bulimia, those with Binge Eating Disorder frequently consume large amounts of food while feeling a lack of control over their eating and are aware that their eating habits are abnormal. Typically, the more weight is gained, the harder they try to diet and dieting is what is usually what leads to the next binge, which can be followed by feelings of powerlessness, guilt, shame and failure. However, this disorder is different from Bulimia because people with Binge Eating Disorder usually do not purge.