How is being on a low-calorie diet different from being anorexic?

Anorexia: Anorexic refers to the condition of anorexia which is offen a severe and debilitation disease that can lead to death. Being on a low calorie diet can be very normal and not a disease.

Different: Anorexia goes beyond low calorie diets, most don't eat anything at all. Low calorie diet is still eating presumably healthy but calorie levels usually 800-1200 per day. Anorexia is an illness.

Anorexia = illness: Being on a low calorie diet = being on a diet that is low in calories. Anorexia nervosa = believing that one's body is abnormal contrary to perceptions of others (example: someone who is very thin insisting that he/she is too fat); obsessing about possibility of weight gain; insisting on being underweight, even if it is affecting his/her health severely. It can be a life-threatening illness.