The Cause and Effects of Anorexia

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 is a terrible disorder that ravages the body as it seems to bring comfort to the mind. A female anorexic tends to lose mostly body fat. Men primarily lose muscle tissue and tone. As this is destroyed it takes its toll on the body. Bone loss, heart muscle loss, and anemia are just a few of the ways this disorder affects the body. The two main causes of death with Anorexia are cardiac arrest and terminal dehydration. These are typically brought on by complications of starving the body of required nutrients for long periods of time.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder and a mental health condition that could potentially be life-threatening. People with anorexia try to keep their weight as low as possible by restricting the amount of food they eat. They often have a distorted image of themselves, thinking that they're fat when they're not.  Some people with the condition also exercise excessively, and some eat a lot of food in a short space of time (binge eating) and then make themselves sick. People affected by anorexia often go to great attempts to hide their behaviour from their family and friends by lying about eating and what they have eaten. Anorexia is linked to

Anorexia is a serious mental health condition. It is an eating disorder where people try to keep their body weight as low as possible. DSM5 outlines the key diagnostic features for anorexia. Firstly, people with anorexia will restrict behaviours that promote healthy body weight. This could mean that they are consequentially underweight and this can be due to dieting, exercising and purging. There will also be a significant fear of weight gain, but this fear will not be relieved by weight loss. There will be a persistent fear that interferes with weight gain. Lastly, there will be a disturbed perception of ones weight and/or shape and denial of underweight status and its seriousness. Anorexia accounts for 10% of eating disorders in the UK and has

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.

Anorexia Nervosa is the condition when an individual abstains from food in order to lose weight or prevent more weight gain. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV(DSM-IV) there are four aspects of criteria to be diagnosed with anorexia: a refusal to maintain weight above what is minimally normal for one’s age and height, and extreme fear of weight gain, distorted body image, and (in females) having amenorrhea(missing three or more consecutive menstrual cycles.)(DSM-IV, 2000:589) Anorexia not only affects weight, but also alters bone growth, neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain, and electrolytes.

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

The way doctors diagnose anorexia is through multiple and, extensive test, for example blood pressure, glomerular filtration rate, and heart rate. According to United States National Library of Medicine “Glomerular filtration rate is a test used to check how well the kidneys are working. Specifically, it estimates how much blood passes through the glomeruli each minute. Glomeruli are the tiny filters in the kidneys that filter waste from the

Eating disorders are severe disturbances in eating behaviors, such as eating too little or eating too much. “Anorexia nervosa affects nearly one in 200 Americans in their lives (three-quarters of them female)” (Treating anorexia nervosa). Anorexia, when translated into Greek means “without appetite” which is not true for all suffering from anorexia most people with this disorder have not lost their appetite they simply have to ignore it. People with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight and have convinced themselves that they are overweight even if they are the opposite of overweight. Since the way that they view themselves is in a negative light they starve themselves and put their lives at risk. “In the most severe

People with anorexia may try to lose weight by starving themselves or by severely limiting the amount of food they eat. They may also exercise too much. Some people may engage in behaviors like, binging and purging. They may induce vomiting after eating or take laxatives. Diagnosis of anorexia has become more prevalent in the last 20 years. Anorexia is typically seen in teenage and young adult women .Women with anorexia have a distorted body image, believing they are fat when they are thin or normal weight. Also patients with anorexia may have a lot of other significant health problems due to the illness. Common illnesses include orthostatic hypotension, bradycardia, amenorrhea, alopecia, and hypothermia. Anorexia also has an effect on serum electrolyte levels and thyroid function, low calcium and potassium levels. Anorexic patients also have some medical problems, like bone density, osteopenia and osteoporosis early on in

Physical signs are often where people find out about the anorexic’s secret. Some symptoms vary by gender and age but most affect the majority of people with this disease. Anorexia can have lifelong ramifications, and even change a woman’s ability to have children. If anorexia is caught early the severity of the results can be greatly reduced. If you believe someone you know may have anorexia do not directly confront them about it look for symptoms and tell another

The term “anorexic” is usually tossed around as a joke, but it really shouldn't be, it is a serious disease that is potentially life threatening. People who suffer anorexia starve themselves due to the fact that they think if they eat, they will become fat.

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.

We must also consider the effects of anorexia. People with anorexia experience hair loss and fingernail breakage. Women who suffer will begin to have period loss. Those who continue to be anorexic without getting help can become anemic and even begin to develop very brittle bones. Anorexia is a serious medical illness, and with severe malnutrition anorexia can also cause death.

     The purpose of this study is twofold. First, I have done extensive research on the causes and effects of anorexia. Secondly, I will produce a survey that asks basic questions about anorexia. I will give these to