Eating Disorders An eating disorder is defined as a disturbance in an individual's eating behavior; whether it comes from lack of food or overeating. Anyone is at risk with an eating disorder, men, women and even children are also at risk; no one is considered immune from this. There are many risks of having an eating disorder. Many things can lead to having an eating disorder, such as stress, psychological and sociological reasoning, and even genetics. The disorder caused by an unlimited number of factors in a person's diet is known as an eating disorder. There are two commonly known eating disorders, bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Bulimia is defined as “an eating disorder characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating followed by frantic efforts to avoid gaining weight” (Smith, Segal). In other words, bulimia is a disorder in which a person tends to overeat and avoids losing the weight they have gained by eating by taking laxatives or vomiting to maintain the weight they want to achieve. When a person forcibly vomits, it is called purging. “Cleansing DOES NOT prevent weight gain: Cleansing is not effective at eliminating calories, which is why most people who suffer from bulimia end up gaining weight over time.” (Smith, Segal). Vomiting or purging only eliminates 50%, at most, of the calories a person has consumed because the calories are absorbed into a person's body as soon as they enter their body. An individual with bulimia can consume approximately 3,000 to 5,000 calories in an hour, while the average person must have consumed approximately 3,000 calories per day. Although a person may think that vomiting is a good alternative to losing weight, this is not the case. Even laxatives don't help you lose much weight. Second... middle of paper... Stress plays an important role in a person's life. When an individual is stressed, they usually deal with comfort, and what is more comforting than food? This is where binge eating happens. A person is likely to turn to comfort food rather than face reality and deal with it alone. Bulimia also occurs here. When someone binges, the individual often notices that they begin to gain weight and go to extremes to lose the weight they gained from eating. Stress can also cause anxiety anorexia. Often, when an individual suffers from anxiety, they lose their appetite and may starve for days. In conclusion, the factors that can lead to eating disorders are sociological, psychological and genetics can cause a disorder in a person's eating behavior. Not only women, but also men are victims of eating disorders and they are all highly at risk.