Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa: What You Need to Know

Discussion Response 1 

Hi Stacy. I agree with you that both bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among the adolescent and adult females, even though the men are also affected by the two eating disorders (Westmoreland et al. 2016). It is correct to state that eating disorders have various consequences on the patients, including death, anxiety, depression, and developmental delay (Patel et al., 2018). I agree with you that early detection and prompt diagnosis are linked with better outcomes for the patients suffering from eating disorders. I would also recommend the discussion of psychotherapy as an intervention that improves the image of the victims of eating disorders while reducing their likelihood to contract depression, among other mental illnesses (Junne et al., 2019). It is correct to say that the addressing of the eating disorder issue requires the provider to spot an enabling environment, which upholds the privacy and security of the patients (Egger et al., 2016). The intervention involves a series of practices that the provider has to implement to ensure the victim goes through the medical process successfully. 

Discussion Response 2 

Hi Carly. I agree with you that the prevalence of eating disorders is on the increase across the nation (Nagl et al., 2016). Most of the diagnosis information indeed comes from the health history of the individuals, and the healthcare professionals have to sharpen their assessment skills to be in a more favorable position to take care of their patients' risks of exposure to eating disorders (Engel et al. 2017). Historically, the high school female students are at the highest risk for both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. I agree with you that the healthcare providers approaching the treatment of eating disorders should focus on the specific objective and subjective data (Degortes et al., 2018). It is true to say that subjective information is the one that the patients give to the provider, while objective information is the one that the provider collects during the assessment (Serier et al., 2019). I agree with you that both subjective and objective data are necessary for the intervention of both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa as eating disorders. 

References 

Degortes, D., Santonastaso, P., & Favaro, A. (2018). Body Image Disturbances in Bulimia 

Nervosa. In Body Image, Eating, and Weight (pp. 127-140). Springer, Cham. 

Egger, N., Wild, B., Zipfel, S., Junne, F., Konnopka, A., Schmidt, U., ... & von Wietersheim, J. 

(2016). Cost-effectiveness of Focal Psychodynamic Therapy and Enhanced Cognitive–behavioural Therapy in Out-patients with Anorexia Nervosa. Psychological Medicine , 46 (16), 3291-3301. 

Engel, S., Steffen, K., & Mitchell, J. E. (2017). Bulimia Nervosa in Adults: Clinical Features, 

Course of Illness, Assessment, and Diagnosis. UpToDate, Waltham, MA . 

Junne, F., Wild, B., Resmark, G., Giel, K. E., Teufel, M., Martus, P., ... & Dinkel, A. (2019). The 

Importance of Body Image Disturbances for the Outcome of Outpatient Psychotherapy in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa: Results of the ANTOP ‐ study. European Eating Disorders Review , 27 (1), 49-58. 

Nagl, M., Jacobi, C., Paul, M., Beesdo-Baum, K., Höfler, M., Lieb, R., & Wittchen, H. U. 

(2016). Prevalence, Incidence, and Natural Course of Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa among Adolescents and Young Adults. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry , 25 (8), 903-918. 

Patel, R. S., Olten, B., Patel, P., Shah, K., & Mansuri, Z. (2018). Hospitalization Outcomes and 

Comorbidities of Bulimia Nervosa: A Nationwide Inpatient Study. Cureus , 10 (5). 

Serier, K. N., Smith, J. M., Finstad, E. M., Laframboise, D., Erickson, B., Moreshead, M., & 

Smith, J. E. (2019). Perceived Conflict and Support among Women with Bulimia Nervosa Compared to Women with Depression and Healthy Controls: An Experimental Manipulation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology , 38 (1), 28-49. 

Westmoreland, P., Krantz, M. J., & Mehler, P. S. (2016). Medical Complications of Anorexia 

Nervosa and Bulimia. The American Journal of Medicine , 129 (1), 30-37.