Both involve preoccupation with weight gain and both predominantly affect adolescent or young females. The origins of these disorders are complex. Slender people tend to be viewed as being more attractive and desirable. Other factors contributing to this disorder may include family problems, issues of control and autonomy, conflicts about femininity, and ambivalence about growing up. While the syndromes are similar, they can be differentiated.
Some individuals find they experience symptoms that include a combination of the two disorders.
Overconcerned with body shape and weight Majority of individuals are within a normal weight, some may be slightly underweight or overweight Depressive moods may occur Characteristics Of Persons With Eating Disorders While there are many individual exceptions to what follows, many clinicians report that the people with whom they work often exhibit the following characteristics. They are adolescent or young adult females whose appetite before the onset of the eating problem was normal. Many are good students. Many report having dieted rather successfully before their problem began. At some point things began to go wrong, the diet took a wrong turn, an d eating and possibly purging habits began and became difficult to stop.