Anorexia Nervosa Research Paper

With Anorexia Nervosa, there is a strong fear of weight gain and a preoccupation with body image. Those diagnosed may show a resistance in maintaining body weight or denial of their illness. Additionally, anorexics may deny their hunger, have eating rituals such as excessive chewing and arranging food on a plate, and seek privacy when they are eating. For women, they go through immediate body changes from abnormal to no menstruation periods and develop lanugo all over their bodies. Characteristics of an anorexic individual also consist of extreme exercise patterns, loosely worn clothing, and maintain very private lives. Socially, to avoid criticism or concern from others, they may distant themselves from friends and activities they once enjoyed. Instead, their primary concerns revolve around weight loss, calorie intake, and dieting. In regards to health, many will have an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure, some can develop osteoporosis, severe dehydration which can result in kidney failure, and overall feel weak (Robbins, 27-29). It has been reported that Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in America (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org).

Anorexia Nervosa is an emotional disorder that causes its victims to have an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. It is known to be the third most common eating disorder among adolescents. Many who suffer from the disorder have a strong fear of gaining weight and they 're very determined to prevent any weight gain. AN patients are also incapable of recognizing the severity of their condition. In the article entitled, "A Factor Analysis of the Meanings of Anorexia Nervosa: Intrapsychic, Relational, and Avoidant Dimensions and Their Clinical Correlates", Enrica Marzola explains, "AN sufferers often refuse treatments, show poor compliance with therapy leading to high dropout rates, relapse, and high mortality" (Marzola 2). Marzola examines how many patients become very attached to their illness and do not wish to be recovered from it. In addition, Not only do many AN patients believe that the disorder has help them gain their ideal body image, but they 've also described their starvation as a way to escape from any negative emotions, strengthen their identity, and reveals their distress. Enrica Marzola also addresses, "These instruments confirmed that AN sufferers experience a

Anorexia Nervosa Eating illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating sickness; contain life-threatening feelings, attitudes, and actions surrounding heaviness and diet problems. Eating ailments are severe expressive and physical difficulties that can have lethal penalties for females and males. Anorexia nervosa comprise of insufficient food consumption leading to a heaviness that is evidently too little, Strong terror of weight expansion, fixation with weight and determined performance to stop weight gain, Confidence excessively connected to body appearance, and incapability to appreciate the harshness of the condition.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that affects about 0.5 to 1 percent of women in the United States today. ("Anorexia Nervosa | National Eating Disorders Association") While, that may not seem like a lot of people are suffering from Anorexia nervosa it has received a significant amount of attention due to the consequences of developing this disorder. For example, it is reported that five to twenty percent of people who have Anorexia Nervosa will eventually succumb to their condition and die prematurely. ("Anorexia Nervosa | National Eating Disorders Association") Even those who do recover from Anorexia can develop other consequences as a result of this eating disorder. Muscle loss, amenorrhea, reduced bone density, and abnormally slow heart rate and low blood pressure. The abnormally slow heart rate and low blood pressure tend to show that this means that the heart is changing which puts the person at an increased risk for heart failure. ("Anorexia Nervosa | National Eating Disorders Association")

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that consists of self-regulated food restriction in which the person strives for thinness and also involves distortion of the way the person sees his or her own body. An anorexic person weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight. The prevalence of eating disorders is between .5-1% of women aged 15-40 and about 1/20 of this number occurs in men. Anorexia affects all aspects of an affected person's life including emotional health, physical health, and relationships with others (Shekter-Wolfson et al 5-6). A study completed in 1996 showed that anorexics also tend to possess traits that are obsessive in nature and carry heavy emotional

Anorexia has dangerous effects on the body and the mind. It has the highest rate of death of any mental illness. Between 5% and 20% of people who develop the disease eventually die from it (Lee, 2008). It may start as simple dieting, but can quickly roller coaster out of control such as not eating at all. The person’s main focus is food, dieting, and the fear of weight gain. Others see them as being very thin but they themselves see a distorted fat image when they look in the mirror.

Anorexia nervosa is a deadly disease in which any one, at any age or any time in their life can develop. Mayo clinic says “it is an eating disorder characterized by an abnormally low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of body weight.” This compulsive disorder brings symptoms that are developed and can be minor to even death

Before treatment can begin, anorexic clients must undergo assessments that ensure they are physically capable of outpatient treatment. If these individuals are not ready for outpatient treatment, they must undergo hospitalization to stabilize their condition. For those clients who pass medical examinations, and are good candidates for outpatient care, it remains necessary for a physician and dietitian to be involved with treatment (Bowers, 2002). This ensures the client is cared for in a holistic manner by addressing “nutritional rehabilitation, possibly medical stabilization, and psychological interventions” (Bowers, 2002, p. 249). This multidimensional approach ensures the client’s physical wellbeing is addressed, in

Anorexia nervosa is a severe mental illness which carries mental, physical and psychological consequences. It is often characterised by low body weight and image distortion, along with obsessive concerns and fears about the gaining of weight.(1) This constant anxiety of weight gain manifests itself through the deprivation of food and excessive exercise. Anorexia Nervosa can broken down further into the restricting type where weight loss is achieved through the restriction of calories,(2) or the purging type where vomiting, laxatives and diuretics(2) are used to gain the similar outcomes. Both of these types have severe impacts on an individuals health and knowledge of the symptoms, care and impacts it has is imperative.

“Anorexia nervosa is a self-induced starvation resulting from a fear of fatness, even though the patient is underweight.” (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2016, p. 1238) This disorder is most commonly seen in adolescent girls and women but can be seen in boys and men. Care for patients with anorexia nervosa can be quite complicated but is essential for their recovery. If these patients do not receive proper care they can deteriorate quickly and death will then be inevitable. “Approximately 15% of all patients suffering from anorexia nervosa die from the disorder: two-thirds from malnutrition, one-third as a result of suicide.” (Bakker, et al., 2011, pp. 16-22) Care plans for these patients will need to include physical, emotional, and psychological goals and interventions.

?Anorexia nervosa, as we know, is a psychological disorder that is defined as the “loss of appetite”. Although the disease is rare and dramatic, in 2007 it was only “affecting about 1% of women and 0.3% of men”(Cacioppo and Freberg, 2013, p.302). Those percentages are low but can equate to a large number of Americans. The biological dangers of anorexia can be very large, including the possibility of death. The disorder carries many symptoms such as low body weight, dry and yellow skin, increased sensitivity to cold, a distorted image of oneself, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems.

Today in society it is founded that Anorexia Nervosa is of most common disorders that affect multiples of women and men across the country. The DSM-V at 307.1 (F50.01) (F50.02) finds Anorexia Nervosa to be a persistent restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight, as related to minimally expected for age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health. The DSM-V also finds the criteria of Anorexia Nervosa to be an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, the disturbance in the way one’s body weight or shape is experienced, the undue influence of body shape and weight of self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current

In our culture today, people concerned with the way they look to a high extent, how much they weight, their physical appearances and how to change a body part they do not like. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are eating disorders that affect a person’s weight to an extreme due to wanting to be thinner when in reality they are already thin to the bone. Both disorders have their similarities and differences from their main obsession of body weight to how they try to lose it.

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.

Finally, we will look at possible treatments for anorexia. People that suffer can get better and gradually learn to eat normally again. Anorexia involves both mind and body. Therapy or counseling is a critical part of treating eating disorders. In many cases family therapy is one of the keys to eating healthily again. Parents and other family members are important in helping the person see that his or her