Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder
Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by immoderate food restriction, inappropriate eating habits or rituals, obsession with having a thin figure, and an irrational fear of weight gain, as well as a distorted body self-perception. It typically involves excessive weight loss and is diagnosed approximately nine times more often in females than in males. Due to their fear of gaining weight, individuals with this disorder restrict the amount of food they consume (Hebebrand J. 2004).
There are four key features according to AN. First, the person refuses to maintain a minimally normal body weight; below 12 of body mass index. Second, despite being dangerously underweight, the person with anorexia is intensely afraid of gaining weight or becoming fat. Third, she has a distorted perception about the size of her body, although emaciated, she looks in the mirror and sees herself as fat or obese. And fourth, she denies the seriousness of her weight loss (Hockenbury&Hockenbury2012).
Patients with anorexia nervosa often experience dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, fever, and a lack of energy. To counteract these side effects, particularly the latter, individuals with anorexia may engage in other harmful behaviors, such as smoking, excessive caffeine consumption, and attempting to take diet pills, along with an increased exercise regimen.
Symptoms
A person with anorexia nervosa may exhibit a number of signs and symptoms, the type and severity of which may vary in each case and may be present but not readily apparent.
Symptoms of a person with anorexia nervosa may include:
  * Refusal to maintain a normal body mass index for their age
  * Amenorrhea, a symptom that occurs after prolonged weight loss; causes menses to stop, hair becomes brittle, and skin becomes yellow and unhealthy
  * Fearful of even the slightest weight gain and takes all precautionary measures to avoid weight gain and becoming...