The 7 differences between anorexia and vigorexia (explained)

Eating Disorders (Eating Disorders) are increasingly common among the population. These mental health problems are considered multifactorial, since they appear as a result of the confluence of various variables without being able to determine a single cause. The aspects that create the breeding ground for a TCA to start are biological, social, and also psychological.

All of them gain strength and usually appear in adolescence, a stage full of physical and emotional changes. This is characterized by instability and insecurities, as there is a progressive autonomy and separation from the figures of reference that will allow them to reach adult maturity over time.

Although all adolescents go through this difficult stage that we call adolescence, the truth is that in some cases the existence of certain risk factors triggers, as we have been commenting, the onset of the disorder. In addition to the emotional and social issues that can favor the onset of an eating disorder (problematic family relationships, low self-esteem, inadequate attachment links, etc.), we cannot ignore the influence of the more than well-known social networks. The bombardment of false perfection to which minors are exposed from a very early age inevitably creates damaging comparisons and expectations of the body that are light years away from reality.

The problem of eating disorders

TCAs have traditionally been a problem with the female face. A huge percentage of patients are women, all of them obsessed with their physical appearance and weight. However, in recent years a problem, until recently unknown, has begun to enter the scene: vigorexia.

Vigorexia is a disorder shared with eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, an obsession with the body. In this case, it is a much more frequent problem among men, since it essentially consists of excessive concern for developing the muscles of the body. In this way, the vigorous patient exercises relentlessly in order to look as muscular as he would like, which he can never achieve. In the most extreme cases, the person can resort to taking drugs that contribute to this end.

Therefore, in current times we are faced with two clinical realities with common points, but also several differences. Both disorders hide deep emotional and relational problems that are superficially manifested through this obsession with the body. Thus, people with anorexia and vigorexia build, each in their own way, their identity around their physical appearance.

Both one and the other constitute a problem that carries numerous health risks, for which they will require the support of professionals.. Despite everything we have discussed, it is often said that vigorexia and anorexia are two opposite extremes. Let us know which points allow us to distinguish them.

How are vigorexia and anorexia different?

As we have been commenting, anorexia and vigorexia are two disorders related to the obsession with the body. However, there are several points of discrepancy that allow us to differentiate them. Let's see them.

1. Sex of the patient

The first key difference between anorexia and vigorexia has to do with the type of patient. While anorexia is a typically female disorder, with a very high percentage of female patients, In vigorexia, the opposite happens, since the most affected are men. Both disorders are closely linked to the aesthetic canons prevailing in society, in such a way that they pursue the strong and defined aesthetics expected for a man and they pursue the thinness and slender figure associated with achievement and success in women.

In both cases the sacrifice is rewarded, since it is not easy for a man to maintain a strong body or for a woman a negligible weight. The difference is marked because sex determines what ideal is pursued and what methods must be followed to achieve it.

2. Influence of family dynamics

It is well known that family dynamics are of high importance in anorexia. Patients with this type of disorder they tend to show inadequate attachment links with their figures of reference, especially with their mothers. There is little autonomy, dependency predominates and there is a harmful fusion between the mother and daughter dyad. The patient also tends to show a childish and complacent attitude.

This is because in the family the wishes of the young woman are often overridden, so that she is expected to do what others want rather than what she would want. In the intervention with anorexic patients, family work is an important pillar, since the dynamics that occur at home tend to favor the development and maintenance of eating disorders.

Food becomes the only aspect over which patients feel they have control, so refusing to eat serves as a kind of rebellion against an environment that has failed to respect their wishes and their own identity. Conversely, in vigorexia, such an important weight of family dynamics in the development of the disorder has not been detected. In general, in vigoréxic patients, altered family functioning has not been perceived, while this has occurred in anorexia.

3. Body perception

The perception of the body in patients with anorexia will always be distorted, so that they see themselves much fatter than they really are. Although it has long been believed that patients show strictly perceptual failures, the truth is that they come to look different because they really feel fat, heavy and even disgusted with themselves.

In the case of vigorexia, a distortion of the body image occurs that occurs in the opposite direction. Patients with this disorder always look poorly toned, thin, and without vigor.

4. Age of onset

In the case of anorexia, the ages of onset are in adolescence, showing a tendency to appear at increasingly earlier stages of development. Currently, the most frequent age of onset is between 12 and 17 years. Conversely, in vigorexia the peak age of onset is somewhat later, normally standing at 18 years of age.

5. Stressors prior to the onset of the condition

In the case of anorexia, it is very common for the disorder to have its onset when the patient starts from a series of predisposing factors to which a precipitating factor is added. Predisposing factors are those that refer to the patient herself, such as low body satisfaction, self-demand or poor family communication. These factors put the person at risk of developing an eating disorder.

Precipitating factors are events or events that, when they occur in the presence of predisposing factors, trigger the onset of the disorder in someone who was already at high risk. Examples of this are major life changes, the loss of a loved one, an academic failure, etc.

In contrast, in patients with vigorexia, it is not clear that a precipitating event occurs prior to the onset of the disorder. These patients do not usually report stressful events immediately prior to the onset of the problem, unlike anorexic patients.

6. Methods used

As we mentioned before, the aim that patients pursue in each type of disorder is different, since in anorexia the thinness is pursued and in vigorexia a muscular body. Therefore, it is expected that the methods are different.

In the case of anorexia, it is usual that in addition to caloric restriction, diuretics or laxatives are used to eliminate what is ingested as far as possible. In the case of vigorexia, anabolic agents are used and vitamins that promote intense muscle development.

7. Nature of the problem

In the case of anorexia, this consists of an eating behavior disorder, since the most visible symptoms revolve around food. In the case of vigorexia is not considered an eating disorderSince there are technically no messy eating habits. Therefore, although they share the obsessive component towards the body, in one the diet is altered and in another it is not.

Conclusions.

In this article we have discussed the essential differences that allow us distinguish two common disorders in the young population: anorexia and vigorexia. Both disorders share common points, since both start from an obsessive behavior towards one's own body, with behaviors that seek to achieve an aesthetic ideal and that seriously endanger health.

In both cases, patients perceive their body image in a distorted way and show low self-esteem and a tendency to use aggressive methods., such as the use of drugs, to achieve their goal. However, anorexia is an eating disorder, unlike vigorexia, in which eating habits are not distorted.

Vigorexia is a problem typical of men, while anorexia is more typical in women. Furthermore, vigorexia is not linked to family dynamics and stressful events as anorexia is. The aesthetic ideal that is pursued in each of these disorders is different, since in anorexia an attempt is made to achieve extreme thinness and in vigorexia a highly developed musculature is intended. The age of onset is also different, since in anorexia there are patients who show symptoms from the age of 12, while vigorexia is associated with somewhat later ages, with a peak onset around 18.