Anorexia Nervosa

Incidences of Anorexia Nervosa have appeared to increase sharply in the USA, UK and western European countries since the beginning of the 60s (Gordon, 2001). The increasing prevalence of the disease has led the World Health Organisation to declare eating disorders a global priority area within adolescent mental health (Becker et al. 2011). Anorexia has in many ways become a modern epidemic (Gordon, 2000) and with a mortality rate of 10% per decade (Gorwood et al. 2003), the highest of any mental disorder (Bulik et al. 2006), it is an epidemic that social and biological scientists have been working tirelessly to understand.

To be diagnosed with eating disorder, someone must meet certain criteria. The criterion for diagnosis slightly varies depending on if you are referring to people who (A) fear gaining weight, and have significant weight loss,(B) eating a huge amount of food , then use laxative to remove the binged food, (C) the use of excessive exercise and fasting in order to remove or to reduce the amount of calories consumed, and (D) distorted body image, no matter how thin they become, they still see themselves as fat, or not thin enough. The onset of of symptoms begins usually in early adolescence with the diagnostic of disturbed Body image.

According to the Mayo Clinic (2016), eating disorders are “conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions, and your ability to function in important areas of life.” One such eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Not to be confused with anorexia, which is simply a general loss of appetite that can be attributed to many medical ailments, anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder and mental illness (Nordqvist, 2015). Anorexia nervosa is estimated to affect about .9% of women and .3% of men in their lifetime (“Eating Disorder Statistics & Research,” n.d.). In general, the disorder is commonly characterized by a distorted body image or self-concept, critically low weight (with respect to the patient’s height and age), and an irrational fear of becoming fat or an intense desire to be thin. There are two subtypes to this eating disorder: restrictive and binge/purge. In the restrictive type, the individual limits caloric intake and may compulsively over-exercise. In the binge/purge type, the individual consumes a considerable amount of food in a short period of time (binging) and then deliberately vomits (purging), takes laxatives, or fasts intensely in order to compensate for the food eaten (“General Information: Anorexia Nervosa,” n.d.). In either case, anorexia nervosa is undoubtedly a dangerous and alarming illness.

Being obsessed with weight, people with anorexia nervosa tend to weigh themselves repeatedly, portion food and eat very small quantities are certain foods – no fats, no carbs, no sugars (Pinel, 2011). Just like with drugs, some people get better after one bout of anorexia nervosa, while some relapse and some, unfortunately, lose the battle as their health declines.

This article explored the topic of identifying symptoms in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). The Eating Disorder Inventory led a study, conducted by D. Garner, that studied females with AN to classify behavior exclusive to the psychological disorder. The researchers recognized the problem of trying to identify any restrictive manners or detrimental behaviors that could identify a person with AN. The purpose of the research was to find tell-tale symptoms or psychological indicators of AN in patients.

People with anorexia nervosa have a tendency to look in the mirror and see their body as overweight and ugly even when in reality they are dangerously thin. A sufferer of anorexia nervosa can be underweight, emaciated with protruding bones or a sunken appearance. They can experience fatigue, dizziness or even fainting. The nails become brittle, the hair can fall out, and women can even experience loss of menstruation or irregularities in their menstrual cycle (Timberline, 2005).

The clinical presentation of Anorexia Nervosa are; patient have low body weight, amenorrhea, yellow skin, lanugo, cold extremities, peripheral edema, muscle weakening, constipation, abnormal laboratory values, abnormal computed tomographic scans, electroencephalographic changes, Cardiovascular changes and impaired renal

Each year millions of people in the United States develop serious and often fatal eating disorders. More than ninety percent of those are adolescent and young women. The consequences of eating disorders are often severe--one in ten end in death from either starvation, cardiac arrest, or suicide. Due to the recent awareness of this topic, much time and money has been attributed to eating disorders. Many measures have been taken to discover leading causes and eventual treatment for those suffering from anorexia. (http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource ...er.html#Causes of Eating Disorders) )

In USA, 20 million females and 10 million males are anorexia patient, dissatisfied with their bodies. Moreover this trend is usually seen in youngsters from age 6 to 10, studying in schools. They first of all start feeling complex regarding their body shapes and their chubbiness. [1] Then this complex stars growing more and more unless some counseling or control is done. If kids get no help they might develop such complex further into anorexia. Normally it happens to girls that at the age of 6, they start developing their body shape and weight concerns, contrary to

When the topic of eating disorders (ED), anorexia, bulimia, starving, purging, or any other form of self harm is brought into an everyday conversation, it is simply looked at as nothing out of them norm and is just brushed off as if the topic was concerning what the President had for lunch that day. At first glance, the average person would probably conclude that the main reason eating disorders are so noted in young women today is simply due to the fact that the media puts so much pressure on these women to be “perfect”. Eating disorders are a very prominent and common factor in our society, it is not something anyone can really evade. There are many theories as to what causes eating disorders. Although doctors and ED specialists cannot

This notion, however, has been viewed as more antiquated in recent years, and the etiological perception of the disorder has become a lot more nuanced. An individual’s environment and social status are perhaps more revealing risk factors than race and gender themselves. Social communities that value thinness, such as career fields like modeling and wrestling, are specific causal factors. Peer and family influences also contribute a great deal to disordered eating patterns. A mother obsessed with beauty can enforce a social expectation for thinness even more completely. Changing standards of beauty, from a Rubenesque Venus to a waifish Twiggy, have also been cited as causal factors. The idea that society “causes” anorexia is powerful, but much to simplistic to fully explain the steady increase in cases of anorexia throughout the 20th

Anorexia Nervosa is currently viewed by society as an extremely complicated disorder, misunderstood, over looked, and misjudged based on the stigmas of society. People who suffer from eating disorders like Anorexia do not always report the fact they are in living with the disorder because they are ashamed or scared of what might happen to them or what people will say. An individual may also feel that they do not met the exact criteria of Anorexia Nervosa in the DSM 5. An example of the DSM 5 criteria for Anorexia Nervosa is an individual purposely takes too little nourishment, has below average body weight, fearful of gaining weight, refusal to keep a normal weight, distorted body perception

Self-esteem is reliant upon body shape and weight. Physical implications may include disruption of the menstrual cycle also known as amenorrhea, signs of starvation, thinning of hair or hair loss, bloated, yellowish palms/soles of feet, dry and pasty skin. The risks that people take while indulging in anorexia can also become physiologically and mentally damaging. There are several effective treatments. One of which is hospitalization, this occurs when the weight loss is greater than 30% in 3 months time. Some other effects to be taken into consideration when hospitalizing a patient are the risk of suicide and depression, severe binging and purging, and serious metabolic disturbance. Therapy and counseling is used to help the patients with depression and family complications that may have led to the state they’re in. Clinical studies have not yet identified a medication that could improve the core symptoms of anorexia.

Self image seems to be a high factor in women and teenage girls. Appearances seem to be everything to some people, especially for women or teenage girls. By believing this, people do not even realize that for some girls go through great lengths to have those looks or self image. The measures women take to do so most likely results in making risky decisions. Anorexia is usually the result of low self-esteem, or self body image of the individual. Women do not seem to understand this leads to a mental disease. This disorder is called Anorexia, this affects mostly women, but in some cases men. Anorexia is a type of medical condition that causes an individual to obsess over the desire to lose weight

How many of you have ever battled an eating disorder or known someone with an eating disorder? One or two of every 100 students will struggle or have struggled with an eating disorder. An anonymous quote from someone who struggled an eating disorder once said “Nothing matters when I’m thin”. Anyone of us in this room is at risk of an eating disorder. Females have to maintain that ‘normal’ look to fit in with society. More guys are seeking help for eating disorders as well. Guys with eating disorders tend to focus more on athletic appearance or success than just on looking thin. I’m going to inform you today about anorexia; what it is, signs, causes, effects, and possible treatments to help it.