“Oh, no! I knew I shouldn’t have had that extra bag of Doritos. What’s Phil gonna think when he sees me? How will I fit into my size 2 jeans I just got today?”

Harmless thoughts of a teenage girl as she becomes more conscious of her environment and what people think of her. However, sometimes these thoughts become overbearing and evolve into eating disorders. The two most prevalent eating disorders ailing teenagers in America are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia and bulimia tend to affect girls more than boys. Often, the disorders go unrecognized in guys because we think of eating disorders as only affecting girls.

These two disorders can be difficult to distinguish from each other because they have similar characteristics. In both anorexia and bulimia, the person will have a distorted image of his or her body. For example, when looking in the mirror, they might see fat thighs, enlarged hips and waist that are largely disproportional. And he or she will also be obsessed with what they eat.

People with anorexia have an extreme fear of being fat. When a person has anorexia, he or she hardly eats at all — and the small amount of food that is eaten becomes like a poison that he or she must get rid of as quickly as possible. A person with anorexia may weigh food before eating it or compulsively count the calories of everything. Exercising excessively is not unusual because they will try anything to lose the nonexistent weight.

Anorexia is different than bulimia because even as the person is starving themselves to lose weight and are actually losing weight, they don’t realize it. They have this altered perception of themselves as always being an overweight person.

In contrast to anorexics, bulimics don’t avoid eating. Instead, he or she eats large amounts of food and then gets rid of it quickly by vomiting or taking laxatives. This is commonly known as “binge and purge” behavior. Unlike anorexia, you can’t always tell by looking at someone whether a person has bulimia. In fact, someone with bulimia may appear average or even above average in weight.

After doing research on these unfortunate disorders, I wanted to know what teenagers really thought about them. These disorders are not something teenagers normally talk about. Still, they linger in our society behind closed doors. So out on the field, I came upon some interesting perspectives on anorexia and bulimia.

When asked whether peer pressure was a great contributor to the promotion of eating disorders, Israt A., a high school junior answered, “Peer pressure definitely is a big part in promoting anorexia or bulimia because people care about what their friends think. If the friends are not supportive of them, then they will do something drastic such as become an anorexic.” Another junior, Sangsoo K. said, “In a society in which many people seek to gain acceptance from each other, peer pressure plays a large role in creating such problems such as anorexia and bulimia. As more people regard thinness with attractiveness, many desire to conform to the majority’s opinion. This willingness to submit oneself to peer pressure leads to deleterious results, which may result in severe complications in life.” The words of a very wise teenager. Other teenagers I interviewed had very similar reactions and did not regard anorexia or bulimia as an acceptable way to attain the ideal look. In fact, most teenagers suggested exercise or diet plans which are healthy and safe.

Anorexia and bulimia are disorders which can and should be avoided at all costs. Not only are they dangerous to your health but they also compromise your mental state. So, in search of beauty, never go to the extreme but love yourself for who you are!