What's the difference between a 500cal diet and..

OK, I get what's been said - Anorexia is a psychological condition versus starving yourself to lose weight. Could one not lead to the other? Someone who has psychological issues could use this as a way of hiding the fact that they are actually anorexic etc.

I really was not being flippant when I asked the question, I asked it out of genuine concern.

My personal opinion, based on nothing but my experience (as a dietitian and also as a human being) is that any diet or any focus on nutrition can lead to an eating disorder. So can being abused. So can walking down the street and seeing a distorted image of yourself in a shop window. So can failing your exams at school.

I guess my point is, no I don't think it is likely to 'lead to an eating disorder' (although, I do not approve of the approach to weight loss).

a 500 net diet is not necessarily a starvation diet, if you work out a lot and have hundreds of thousands of net fat calories stored up that can make up the gap. Isn't it when you have less than 5% body fat that your body goes into starvation mode?

Obviously, over time a 500 net diet may mean your body's metabolism slows down a bit. But still. If you have all that fat stored up, it will get utilized.

I would still say it was starvation. You may not be starving yourself of calories but you are still starving yourself of nutrients.