People with anorexia nervosa have an intense fear of gaining weight, refuse to maintain a normal weight, and have a distorted perception of their body. Anorexia commonly begins during adolescence and generally takes one of two forms: restricting or binge eating/purging. People with restricting anorexia eat extremely small portions, effectively starving themselves. Meanwhile, people with binge eating/purging anorexia may eat normal amounts or even more than normal amounts of food, but then prevent the food from being absorbed properly by the body through self-induced vomiting or inappropriate use of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. In either form, the body does not get the nutrition it requires, and secondary illnesses associated with malnutrition can arise. With treatment, approximately one third of individuals fully recover from the disorder. However, up to 20% of anorexia patients die from cardiac arrest associated with starvation or from suicide.

It is extremely important that individuals with either disorder to get treatment quickly.

Bulimia nervosa patients generally recover better than anorexia patients, but the disorder is still serious. Bulimia is characterized by episodes of excessive eating and negative self-evaluation influenced by weight and body shape. On average, these episodes occur at least twice a week for three months. Bulimics will often binge in secret and feel ashamed of their eating habits. Bulimia patients usually are within a normal weight range and restrict their diets between binges; for this reason, the outward signs of bulimia are often less apparent. Fewer studies have been done on bulimia compared to anorexia; but bulimia, like anorexia, is treatable. For both disorders, a combination of medication and therapy is generally used.