Summary: Similarities Between Anorexia And Obesity

In America, thousands suffer from health problems related to weight, whether that be being overweight or underweight. Anorexia and obesity are similar in more ways than most people think, both can stem from ‘faulty brain wiring’, they are dangerous for a person’s health, each of them can cause mood disorders, and a person’s environment can be to blame for each one. However, there are also some major differences, with the obvious being that anorexia is when a person starves themselves and obesity is when someone is extremely overweight. The other difference is that anorexia is a disease, and obesity is a physical state. It is necessary for people to know and understand the similarities, because it can help us to more effectively help patients afflicted by both.
For instance, both can be caused by “faulty wiring in the brain.”(Live Science). Patients affected by both anorexia and obesity often suffer from mental disorders. Many of the patients were affected by these disorders before diagnosis, leading us to believe that their problems were caused by the mental disorders. Anorexic and obese brains work in very similar ways. Another cause for each is a person's environment. Somebody’s home life can be to blame for each. As well as their home life, being subjected to the media could be to blame for each. The media glorifies thinness, which can lead to anorexia. This glorification can also cause a person to be upset that they don’t look like the people on TV or in magazines. Many people eat when they are upset, therefore this glorification of thinness can also lead to