Anorexia nervosa: body to skeleton
Anorexia nervosa, or anorexia, is a type of
eating disorder that mainly affects adolescent girls and young women. A person with this disease has an intense fear of gaining weight and limits the food she eats. She
- has a low body weight
- refuses to keep a normal body weight
- is extremely afraid of becoming fat
- believes she is fat even when she's very thin
- misses three (menstrual) periods in a row (for girls/women who have started having their periods)
Anorexia affects your health because it can damage many parts of your body. A person with anorexia will have many of these signs:
- loses a lot of weight
- talks about weight and food all the time
- moves food around the plate; doesn't eat it
- weighs food and counts calories
- follows a strict diet
- fears gaining weight
- won't eat in front of others
- ignores/denies hunger
- uses extreme measures to lose weight (self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse, diuretic abuse, diet pills, fasting, excessive exercise)
- thinks she's fat when she's too thin
- gets sick a lot
- weighs self several times a day
- acts moody
- feels depressed
- feels irritable
- doesn't socialize
- wears baggy clothes to hide appearance
The good news is that people with this disease can get better. The treatment depends on what the person needs, but the person must get back to a healthy weight.
