Summary
- Obsessed with limiting food and losing weight
- May purge food through diet pills, laxatives, enemas, or forced vomiting
Anorexia is a severe eating disorder that affects mostly teen girls and young women. It involves a strict limit of food intake which slowly starves the body. In this way it differs from bulimia and binge-eating disorder (BED). Those illnesses involve extreme over-eating and a normal to high body weight. A person with anorexia will have a low to very low body weight. She will also be in denial about her state. She can be very thin and still believe she is fat. This puts her in great danger.
Signs
Anorexia, also called anorexia nervosa, involves being nervous about food. A person with the illness will try to over control her eating and her weight. He will count calories and eat very precise portions of food. He will be obsessed with losing weight and resort to extreme methods to do so. This often includes doing way too much exercise and dieting. Sometimes the person may take part in binge-eating. He will then purge himself through diet pills, laxatives, enemas, or forced vomiting.
Some of the signs to look for include:
- Being very thin
- Being in denial of one’s state
- Having a distorted body image
- Having an extreme fear of weight gain
- Over exercising
- Eating tiny amounts of food
- Refusing to eat in public
- Binge-eating and purging
- Missing three or more menstrual cycles in a row
Causes
The disease tends to run in families. Having a mother or sister with the illness greatly adds to the chances of developing it. Sometimes it is caused by chemicals or hormones being out of balance.
Culture can also play a large role in developing the illness. Images of women with “perfect” bodies are all over the media. This creates unreal ideals for teens and young women.
Children, older women, and even males can get the disease though it is less common. Models, dancers and certain athletes are at higher risk due to their job demands. Peer pressure, stress, trauma, and a poor self-image can also be triggers.
Risks
The risks of not treating the disorder are many. These include issues that affect both the mind and body.
Some emotional risks are:
- Withdrawal
- Moodiness
- Lack of focus
- Lack of feelings
- Obsession with food and weight control
- Intense fear of weight gain
- Poor self-image
- Thoughts of killing oneself
Some physical risks are:
- Thinning of hair, nails, and bones
- Dried, bruised, or yellow skin
- Growth of fine body hair
- Lowering of blood pressure
- Slowing of heart rate
- Slowed breathing
- Weakened muscles
- Kidney problems
- Dehydration
- Constipation
- Constant cold feeling
- Disruption of menstrual cycles
- Trouble getting pregnant
- Problems with pregnancy
Treatment
People can die from anorexia. Early detection and prompt treatment is vital. Most of the ill effects of the disease can be reversed. The first step is to slowly increase and stabilize the person’s body weight. Talk therapy is the main form of treatment after that. A strong family support system is needed, as well as guidance on healthy eating. Sometimes drug treatment is also used.
Some people with the illness will achieve full recovery. Others may relapse from time to time. With proper treatment and support, most people with the illness can maintain a normal, healthy weight.
Resource
Summary
- Obsessed with limiting food and losing weight
- May purge food through diet pills, laxatives, enemas, or forced vomiting
Anorexia is a severe eating disorder that affects mostly teen girls and young women. It involves a strict limit of food intake which slowly starves the body. In this way it differs from bulimia and binge-eating disorder (BED). Those illnesses involve extreme over-eating and a normal to high body weight. A person with anorexia will have a low to very low body weight. She will also be in denial about her state. She can be very thin and still believe she is fat. This puts her in great danger.
Signs
Anorexia, also called anorexia nervosa, involves being nervous about food. A person with the illness will try to over control her eating and her weight. He will count calories and eat very precise portions of food. He will be obsessed with losing weight and resort to extreme methods to do so. This often includes doing way too much exercise and dieting. Sometimes the person may take part in binge-eating. He will then purge himself through diet pills, laxatives, enemas, or forced vomiting.
Some of the signs to look for include:
- Being very thin
- Being in denial of one’s state
- Having a distorted body image
- Having an extreme fear of weight gain
- Over exercising
- Eating tiny amounts of food
- Refusing to eat in public
- Binge-eating and purging
- Missing three or more menstrual cycles in a row
Causes
The disease tends to run in families. Having a mother or sister with the illness greatly adds to the chances of developing it. Sometimes it is caused by chemicals or hormones being out of balance.
Culture can also play a large role in developing the illness. Images of women with “perfect” bodies are all over the media. This creates unreal ideals for teens and young women.
Children, older women, and even males can get the disease though it is less common. Models, dancers and certain athletes are at higher risk due to their job demands. Peer pressure, stress, trauma, and a poor self-image can also be triggers.
Risks
The risks of not treating the disorder are many. These include issues that affect both the mind and body.
Some emotional risks are:
- Withdrawal
- Moodiness
- Lack of focus
- Lack of feelings
- Obsession with food and weight control
- Intense fear of weight gain
- Poor self-image
- Thoughts of killing oneself
Some physical risks are:
- Thinning of hair, nails, and bones
- Dried, bruised, or yellow skin
- Growth of fine body hair
- Lowering of blood pressure
- Slowing of heart rate
- Slowed breathing
- Weakened muscles
- Kidney problems
- Dehydration
- Constipation
- Constant cold feeling
- Disruption of menstrual cycles
- Trouble getting pregnant
- Problems with pregnancy
Treatment
People can die from anorexia. Early detection and prompt treatment is vital. Most of the ill effects of the disease can be reversed. The first step is to slowly increase and stabilize the person’s body weight. Talk therapy is the main form of treatment after that. A strong family support system is needed, as well as guidance on healthy eating. Sometimes drug treatment is also used.
Some people with the illness will achieve full recovery. Others may relapse from time to time. With proper treatment and support, most people with the illness can maintain a normal, healthy weight.
Resource
Summary
- Obsessed with limiting food and losing weight
- May purge food through diet pills, laxatives, enemas, or forced vomiting
Anorexia is a severe eating disorder that affects mostly teen girls and young women. It involves a strict limit of food intake which slowly starves the body. In this way it differs from bulimia and binge-eating disorder (BED). Those illnesses involve extreme over-eating and a normal to high body weight. A person with anorexia will have a low to very low body weight. She will also be in denial about her state. She can be very thin and still believe she is fat. This puts her in great danger.
Signs
Anorexia, also called anorexia nervosa, involves being nervous about food. A person with the illness will try to over control her eating and her weight. He will count calories and eat very precise portions of food. He will be obsessed with losing weight and resort to extreme methods to do so. This often includes doing way too much exercise and dieting. Sometimes the person may take part in binge-eating. He will then purge himself through diet pills, laxatives, enemas, or forced vomiting.
Some of the signs to look for include:
- Being very thin
- Being in denial of one’s state
- Having a distorted body image
- Having an extreme fear of weight gain
- Over exercising
- Eating tiny amounts of food
- Refusing to eat in public
- Binge-eating and purging
- Missing three or more menstrual cycles in a row
Causes
The disease tends to run in families. Having a mother or sister with the illness greatly adds to the chances of developing it. Sometimes it is caused by chemicals or hormones being out of balance.
Culture can also play a large role in developing the illness. Images of women with “perfect” bodies are all over the media. This creates unreal ideals for teens and young women.
Children, older women, and even males can get the disease though it is less common. Models, dancers and certain athletes are at higher risk due to their job demands. Peer pressure, stress, trauma, and a poor self-image can also be triggers.
Risks
The risks of not treating the disorder are many. These include issues that affect both the mind and body.
Some emotional risks are:
- Withdrawal
- Moodiness
- Lack of focus
- Lack of feelings
- Obsession with food and weight control
- Intense fear of weight gain
- Poor self-image
- Thoughts of killing oneself
Some physical risks are:
- Thinning of hair, nails, and bones
- Dried, bruised, or yellow skin
- Growth of fine body hair
- Lowering of blood pressure
- Slowing of heart rate
- Slowed breathing
- Weakened muscles
- Kidney problems
- Dehydration
- Constipation
- Constant cold feeling
- Disruption of menstrual cycles
- Trouble getting pregnant
- Problems with pregnancy
Treatment
People can die from anorexia. Early detection and prompt treatment is vital. Most of the ill effects of the disease can be reversed. The first step is to slowly increase and stabilize the person’s body weight. Talk therapy is the main form of treatment after that. A strong family support system is needed, as well as guidance on healthy eating. Sometimes drug treatment is also used.
Some people with the illness will achieve full recovery. Others may relapse from time to time. With proper treatment and support, most people with the illness can maintain a normal, healthy weight.
Resource