“I have a rule when I weigh myself; if I've gained, I starve for the rest of the day. But if Ive lost, I starve too.”

These quotes, taken off the internet, are from individuals who suffer from eating disorders. Extremely dangerous and potentially fatal, eating disorders are far more prevalent in our society, especially amongst teenagers, than we would like to believe. The two most common types of eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia.

Anorexia nervosa refers to an unhealthy obsession to stay thin and sufferers go to the extremes to lose and maintain a dangerously low body weight. The person's body image is so distorted that even a skeleton-like body is seen as fat. Even though the term anorexia nervosa literally means “nervous loss of appetite”, it does not mean that anorexics are not hungry. They are famished most of the time; they just refuse to eat in the fear of gaining weight. They spend a lot of time thinking about food, preparing meals for others, reading cookbooks — but never indulging in food themselves.

There is a big difference in being anorexic and going on a diet. A healthy person goes on a diet in an attempt to control weight; an anorexic does so in an attempt to control their life and emotions. Anorexics think of weight loss as a way to gain happiness.

There is evidence to prove that a predisposition towards eating disorders can be genetically transmitted; however, the main cause is attributed to psychological and environmental pressures. Experts believe that by becoming anorexic, an adolescent girl manages to overcome the issue of her sexuality and fear of growing up. It is often the case that when an anorexic starves herself, her menstruation cycle becomes irregular and sometimes stops, her breasts shrink and the body generally takes on a more boyish shape. So, at least for the time being, an anorexic girl manages to avoid her sexuality.

Society can also be blamed, in a way, for encouraging anorexia with it's preoccupation with looks and the 'perfect figure.' Thanks to skinny models and celebrities obsessed with weight-loss, it is easy to observe that society admires thin women.

There is a common misconception that only females suffer from eating disorders; the number of males with eating disorders is probably higher than perceived because a lot of cases are not diagnosed. Just like females, males with eating disorders also have a negative body image and, according to experts, may become overly concerned with fitness, leading to over-exercising.

According to the US National Institute of Mental Health, anorexia is a treatable disease and there are three components involved in the treatment “restoring the person to a healthy weight; treating the psychological issues related to the disorder; and reducing or eliminating behaviours or thoughts that lead to disordered eating, and preventing relapse”. Left untreated, anorexia can lead to bone fractures and osteoporosis, a loss of brain tissue and eventually, death.

Another common disorder is bulimia. This is a condition in which, instead of starving, the individual stuffs himself/herself with food and then forces it out via induced vomiting or the use of laxatives. Bulimics tend to binge, on average, once a week, sometimes consuming up to 6,000 calories in a single sitting. Severe sufferers, however, may binge and purge about 30 times a week.

There are anorexics that show symptoms of being bulimic — at times they succumb to food, gorge large amounts and then take it out by vomiting or laxatives. However, unlike those suffering from anorexia, bulimics eat enough to maintain a healthy body-weight and, at times, can even be overweight.

Bulimics cause considerable harm to themselves because of their bingeing and purging. They can suffer from 'nutritional imbalances, damage along the digestive tract, and dehydration'. Not only that, but bulimia leads to an erosion of tooth enamel and the loss of teeth as well as serious diseases of the digestive system. Like anorexia, the treatment of bulimia also consists of medication like anti-depressants and psychotherapy. Unfortunately, also just like anorexia, there is no one treatment that is effective without fail. This means that a lot of people with eating disorders do not get cured.

There have been attempts to try to curb the growth of eating disorders. The Italian government has banned very thin models from participating in runway shows from February 2007, a move to discourage the idea that to be beautiful one has to be very thin. According to the same website, the New York State Legislature passed two bills relating to the identification and prevention of eating disorders as well as improvement of the conditions of treatment centres.

It is ironic that while a large segment of the of the world's population is starving because of a lack of food, there are many deliberately starving themselves or purging out food. Eating disorders should not be taken lightly, they have the potential to be life-threatening and need treatment.