Definition
Anorexia is an eating disorder. It occurs when a person's obsession with diet and exercise leads to extreme weight loss. The disorder is considered if a person refuses to maintain a body weight at or above 85% of their ideal body weight. It can be fatal.
Risk Factors
A risk factor increases your chance of getting a disease or condition. Risk factors for anorexia include the following:
- Sex: female
- Age: adolescence or early adulthood
- Low self-esteem
- Feelings of helplessness
- Perfectionism
- Fear of becoming overweight
- Familial pressure to be thin
- Families that are overprotective, rigid, under-involved, or in conflict
- Family history of eating disorders
- Emotional stress
- Mood disorders such as depression or generalized anxiety disorder
- Personality disorders
- Susceptibility to social and fashion trends emphasizing or glamorizing thinness
Symptoms
Symptoms may include:
- Excessive weight loss
- Obsession with food, calories, and fat content
- Dieting even when thin
- Intense fear of gaining weight, even when underweight
- Body dysmorphia—distorted self-image of being overweight despite evidence to the contrary
- Basing self-evaluation heavily on body weight or shape
- Loss of menstrual periods (secondary amenorrhea) or delay in menarche (onset of periods)
- Excessive exercising
- Feeling cold, especially hands and feet
- Being secretive about food
- Hair loss and/or growth of fine hair on the body
- Fainting
- Constipation
- Depression and/or anxiety
- Heart palpitations
Anorexia often leads to a number of serious medical problems including:
- Amenorrhea (loss of periods)
- Osteoporosis
- Cardiac problems—can be fatal
Body Dysmorphia
© 2008 Nucleus Medical Art, Inc.
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