Anorexia Nervosa

Definition

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves limiting the amount of food a person eats. It results in starvation and an inability to stay at the minimum body weight considered healthy for the person's age and height.

Persons with this disorder may have an intense fear of weight gain, even when they are underweight. Not eating enough food or exercising too much results in severe weight loss.

See also:

• Bulimia
• Intentional weight loss

Symptoms

People with anorexia may severely limit the amount of food they eat, or eat and then make themselves throw up. They may also use water pills (diuretics) and laxatives to lose weight.

Most individuals with anorexia nervosa do not recognize that they have an eating disorder.

Behaviors that may be noticed in a person with anorexia include:

• Cutting food into small pieces
• Exercising compulsively
• Going to the bathroom right after meals
• Quickly eating large amounts of food
• Restricting the amount of food eaten
• Using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics inappropriately in an effort to lose weight

Symptoms may include:

• Blotchy or yellow skin
• Confused or slow thinking
• Dental cavities due to self-induced vomiting
• Depression
• Dry mouth
• Extreme sensitivity to cold (wearing several layers of clothing to stay warm)
• Fine hair
• Low blood pressure
• No menstruation
• Poor memory or poor judgement
• Significant weight loss (15% or greater below normal weight)
• Wasting away of muscle and loss of body fat

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