The 4 differences between anorexia and anorexia nervosa

Anorexia is understood in popular culture as a synonym for extreme thinness. In part, this is true, it involves reaching extremely low body mass indexes caused by not eating enough food and nutrients.

This thinness can be caused by the person's voluntary restraint, who stops eating food out of concern for gaining weight and with the pathological fear of gaining weight, characteristic beliefs of anorexia nervosa, a disorder mental.

However, in some cases there is anorexia without the need for anorexia nervosa. Understood simply as extreme thinness, anorexia can be caused by a medical condition that affects appetite and nutrient absorption.

Then let's see how anorexia, a symptom, and anorexia nervosa differ, eating behavior disorder.

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Main differences between anorexia nervosa and anorexia as a symptom

In popular parlance, anorexia and anorexia nervosa are two terms used interchangeably and synonymously. In most cases, they are used to refer to what clinical psychologists call anorexia nervosa.

, an eating behavior disorder whose main symptom is a pathological fear of gaining weight, combined with a significant distortion of body image.

But although used as synonyms, the truth is that certain differences can be highlighted between what is plain anorexia and anorexia nervosa. Although both are strongly related, the truth is that we can highlight certain nuances between organic anorexia, a condition in which there is extreme thinness caused by problems absorbing nutrients or loss of appetite, and anorexia nervosa, of psychological origin in which the patient voluntarily restricts her food intake.

Before highlighting their main differences, an important point should be noted. Here, to help understand the differences between anorexia and anorexia nervosa, we are going to refer to the former as "organic" or "physical" in the sense of that we refer to the symptom, to the medical condition in which a person reaches extreme thinness, regardless of whether or not there is a pathological fear of gaining weight. In anorexia nervosa itself, there is always some problem related to the perception of body image or fear of gaining weight, clearly psychological aspects.

Here we highlight how anorexia and anorexia nervosa differ:

1. Causes

Organic anorexia, understood as a symptom, can be due to several factors. This medical condition is mostly known as a symptom of anorexia nervosa, a disorder of eating behavior that, as we have mentioned, its main symptom is the pathological fear of fatten. In this particular case, the person is afraid of gaining weight, so they voluntarily restrict food intake and, as As a result, he progressively loses weight until he reaches extreme thinness, with a BMI (body mass index) above 18.

Anorexia nervosa is not the only psychological condition that gives rise to anorexia as a symptom. There are other mental disorders that affect the eating behavior and appetite of the patient. The best known examples of them are in depression and anxiety, psychological problems in which some patients lose their appetite completely, which means that they end up losing weight. Here there is no problem with body perception, but there is a psychological problem that affects the patient's eating habits and loses weight as a result.

Organic anorexia can also be caused by the consumption of certain drugs. Some medications have significant weight loss as a side effect as a result of losing appetite, this being the case with antidepressants and painkillers. Extreme thinness can also be a symptom of certain serious illnesses, such as thyroid cancer, gastric cancer, or heart failure.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating behavior disorder, in which the patient carries out a voluntary and intense restriction of food intake for the pathological fear of gaining weight. She sees herself distorted and overestimates her body size. People who suffer from this psychopathology eat little food, they look for methods to compensate for the calories they have consumed. Some of the most common ways to counteract what they have taken is to use diuretics and laxatives, exercise compulsively, and cause vomiting.

Anorexia nervosa has a psychological origin associated with problems such as childhood trauma, imitation of pathological behaviors of others with food, irrational beliefs about body size and beauty or distortion of body image. In this case, the person is extremely thin due to eating restrictions, not linked to any medical illness, but for the purpose of not gaining weight or losing what you think you have the rest.

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2. Affected population

Another difference between organic anorexia and anorexia nervosa has to do with the population that suffers from it. Organic anorexia can occur in anyone, because the causes of this medical condition are very varied and not very specific.

It is true that it can be a symptom of anorexia nervosa itself, but it also occurs in people with medical problems without concern for their body shape. Anyone who has a gastrointestinal problem, oncological disease or medical condition in which appetite and nutrient absorption are altered can become extremely thin.

In the case of anorexia nervosa, it is possible to speak of a specific type of population. This eating behavior disorder mainly affects young women., mostly white, who are in puberty. It is not common in Latino and black women or older women, although it can occur. The main reason for this is that in Western societies the idea has permeated that a beautiful woman is one who is very thin, a beauty canon that has caused many girls to internalize the idea that if they are overweight they are neither attractive nor valid socially.

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3. Associated behaviors

Organic and nervous anorexia can be differentiated behaviorally. In the case of anorexia, there is a loss of appetite, caused mostly by organic bodily problems (eg. g., tummy ache, poor absorption of nutrients,...). In this case, the person does not have to worry about gaining weight, there is simply a loss of appetite that can that leads you to eat less or you find it uncomfortable to eat the 1,200 to 2,000 calories that is recommended for an adult person.

In the case of anorexia nervosa, you eat less consciously and voluntarily. The restriction in food intake acquires characteristics of a phobia, since the person can become afraid of food and what they believe it implies for their organism. This can be seen in behaviors such as not eating with your family, hiding food to pretend you have eaten it and throwing it away, avoiding having food at home, compulsively drinking water...

Other behaviors associated with anorexia nervosa are induce vomiting and take diuretics and laxatives to eliminate ingested food. In addition, the patient may exercise compulsively, not because he wants to be healthy or likes physical activity, but to burn the slightest calorie he has eaten. People with anorexia nervosa are capable of walking thousands of steps a day, doing squats while waiting for the bus or standing for hours to avoid rest and, with it, the much-feared increase of weight.

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4. Perception about the body

In the case of organic anorexia, when caused by a medical condition, the person need not have an undue fear of being overweight or obese. What's more, just the opposite of anorexia nervosa can occur: wanting to gain weight.

Excessive weight loss due to a medical problem is something that the patient can live with absolute concern, wishing to recover the lost weight and achieve a healthy BMI. Your calorie restriction is due to a medical problem, not a distorted view of your body shape and the voluntary intention of wanting to be thin.

In the case of anorexia nervosa, the person perceives their body size to be larger than it really is., that is, she looks fat or at least overweight, despite the fact that the scale and other ways of measuring her weight and body size say just the opposite, that she is dangerously underweight. In anorexia nervosa there is a strong alteration of body image and fear of gaining weight. Under these circumstances, the person restricts food intake with the primary and voluntary goal of losing weight.