The most difficult part of treating the anorexic person is the inability of the person to realize that there is indeed a problem. Since anorexia is a form of starvation, it can lead to death if left untreated. Research suggests that anorexics can achieve weight gain by way of treatment, although they may never reach ideal weight. Frequently their abnormal eating patterns of avoiding high calorie foods continues. There is no preferred single form of treatment.
Psychological interventions are often helpful.
Initially, anorexia was thought to be a psychological problem, but in the past several years scientists have discovered that people with eating disorders have a chemical imbalance in the brain similar to those found in people with depression. Bulimia is an eating disorder that has several distinctive behaviors, feeling and thoughts. There are also periods of severe food restriction by way of dieting or vomiting to prevent weight gain. The purging behaviors are what distinguish it from anorexia. Purging behaviors include self-induced vomiting, use of diuretics, use of laxatives to induce diarrhea and or obsessive exercise.