What is anorexia?
Anorexia nervosa, simply known as anorexia is an eating
disorder that mainly affects young girls around the age of 16-18, but
it can affect anyone.
It is normal for people to be worried about their weight,
especially women but people who have anorexia are obsessed with their
weight and being thin. They therefore lose a lot of weight so that they
are below the normal weight for their age and height.
Even when they have lost weight people with anorexia still
see themselves as overweight and so refuse to eat or eat very little,
they may also exercise all the the time to try and burn off more calories.
As time goes on people with anorexia may develop symptoms of bulimia such as, using laxatives or making themselves sick to lose weight. However, unlike people with
'pure' bulimia, their weight will remain low.
The eating disorders association
estimates that about 165,000 people in the UK have eating disorders
with 10% dying as a result, but experts also fear this figure could
be higher.
What causes anorexia?
People can develop anorexia for all sorts of reasons,
though there usually is an underlying emotional or psychological disorder
which is the cause. Puberty,
deaths in the family, parents divorce, a relationship break-up, bullying
and other stresses are all potential triggers of anorexia. People with
anorexia tend to believe that their life will be improved if they were
thin.
The increase in the number of people with eating disorders
has also been blamed on super-thin models. The media constantly advertise
being slim as beautiful and fat as unattractive and with the many miracle
diets now promoted people are constantly trying to reach their ideal
weight.
Anorexia can begin with a normal diet which is then
carried to extremes, with sufferers eating as little as possible and
finding their whole life revolves around food. You might also be more
at risk of developing anorexia if a family member has previously been
affected by an eating disorder.
What symptoms are linked with anorexia?
Warning signs that someone might be suffering with
anorexia could include any of the following:
- Weight loss, that may be hidden by the sufferer
wearing baggy clothes.
- Fear of putting on weight.
- Obsession about food or calories and with body shape
or size.
- Refusal to eat.
- Denial of hunger.
- Excessive exercising.
- Fainting spells.
- Constipation.
- Greater amounts of hair on the body or the face
due to a lack of protein in the diet.
- Always feeling the cold.
- Lack of concentration, moodiness and difficulty sleeping.
- Dry skin.
- Absent or irregular periods.
- Loss of scalp hair.
What is the difference between anorexia and bulimia?
The main difference between the two is
people with bulimia usually manage to keep their weight within a healthy
limit. This is because they binge eat (eat a lot of food at once) and
this will often include eating fattening foods, for example they may
eat a few cakes at one time. They then feel guilty and so make themselves
sick or will take laxatives. However, people with anorexia starve themselves
and avoid high-calorie food so tend to lose a lot of weight.
How is anorexia diagnosed?
There are no specific tests available to diagnose anorexia,
though your doctor may want to do a blood test to check for anaemia or other possible causes of weight loss. You should also be prepared
for the possibility that your doctor may ask some strange questions.
It is usually friends or family members who will suddenly
realise that something is wrong when they notice that not only has the
sufferer lost weight but is continuing to do so. The sufferer will often
deny they have a problem and will still believe they are overweight.
If you are worried that someone you know is suffering with anorexia,
make sure they get help but be gentle with the suggestion.
How is anorexia treated?
Treating anorexia can be difficult as the person suffering
usually doesn't believe they need help or treatment. Over 25% of people
with anorexia become so weak that they require hospitalisation and they
may need to be force fed. The main aim of treatment is to restore the
person to a healthy weight, this is achieved by finding the underlying
cause of anorexia and by helping the sufferer to get back to normal
eating patterns. However, for treatment to be successful the person
with anorexia must want to change and accept the help and support of
family, friends and doctors.
People with anorexia will usually need counselling for
a year or more to treat any mental health problems.
Medication, such as antidepressants may be necessary where
depression is severe.
What happens if anorexia is untreated?
If the person suffering with anorexia doesn't get help
they might be at risk at death from starvation. Over time, a lack of
food can also cause the following:
- An irregular heartbeat.
- Muscles to waste away.
- Kidney failure.
- Osteoporosis,
due to a lack of calcium.
As people who suffer from anorexia are usually depressed
they are also at an increased risk of committing suicide.
Related topics
Bulimia
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