Bulimia and binge eating are similar eating disorders, but bulimia involves bingeing and purging, while binge eating does not involve purging. Both can have serious physical and emotional consequences.
While bulimia and binge eating are both eating disorders and can be treated in fairly similar ways, there are important differences between each. Bulimia is a disorder in which a person is typically obsessed with food and eating to the point of bingeing and eating a lot at once, and then following up that binge with a purge. Binge eating, on the other hand, involves obsessing over food and binges, but does not involve purging afterwards. Both conditions can be very destructive disorders with serious medical consequences if left untreated.
The two eating disorders are quite similar on one level, but the way each fully expresses itself is quite different. Also known as “binging and purging,” bulimia typically consists of two phases that are linked and ultimately self-replicate. A person will often obsess over food and the act of eating, usually connected with feelings of embarrassment and self-sacrifice, until they finally lose control and binge on lots of food at once. After this binge, the person will usually feel ashamed of eating and then purge his system of the food eaten, either by making himself vomit or by taking laxatives.
While bulimia and binges both involve overeating, binges do not include subsequent purging. Bingeing, or overeating, also doesn’t have to happen all at once and can consist of extensive and extreme grazing throughout the day. As with bulimia, there are usually similar feelings of shame and embarrassment after eating.
Both conditions can have harmful and serious physical and emotional consequences. The shame and guilt that a person with these disorders usually feels and associates with food can be very psychologically damaging and lead to depression and other problems. Bulimia can also have additional physical consequences due to the toll a person places on their body through purging. Excessive vomiting can, for example, cause damage to a person’s esophagus and teeth from stomach acids. Binge eating lacks the purging element of bulimia, which means it can often lead to obesity and related health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes.
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