Anorexia Nervosa

         Anorexia is almost as prevalent in high schools as drugs and alcohol are.  The trend to be "super model" skinny has grown more popular as the years have gone by making many people turn to anorexia.  The consequences of being anorexic though do not always outweigh the results that occur for a person.
          According to medline plus anorexia is defined as "an eating disorder that makes people lose more weight than is considered healthy for their age and height" ("Anorexia nervosa", 2013).  It has been noticed that people affected by this order tend to diet or exercise too much, and have an intense fear of gaining weight.  Anorexia becomes a problem when it begins to effect the daily life of a person.  The disease is diagnosed when...
          > There is an intense fear of gaining weight, even if                                                                                                                 the person is underweight,
          > There is a refusal to keep their weight at a number healthy for their age and height,
         > There is a distorted body image and won't admit to their extremely weight lost,
         > For women menstrual periods have not occurred for three or more cycles ("Anorexia nervosa", 2013).
          The cause of the disease is not fully known but it is believed it could possibly be contributed to genetics, hormones, and society's attitudes.  It was once believed that family conflicts could contribute to the development of the disease but that has been removed from the list of possible causes ("Anorexia nervosa", 2013).   Anorexia is commonly found in females, typically arising during the teen to young adolescent years, but it can also be seen in males.  Below is the link to a video about a 13 year old girl who suffered from anorexia to the point that it almost took her life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oxWpt7omA0
Below is a link to an article about a 22 year old woman in the UK who nearly died from anorexia and the story of her recovery:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9554702/Anorexic-who-weighed-less-than-three-stone-beats-eating-disorder.html
        Symptoms of anorexia are seen in both behaviors that the person does, as well as physical changes to the body.  Some of the behaviors consists of exercising all the time, going to the bathroom right after meals, refusing to eat around other people, or taking diet pills.  The physical symptoms can be found in blotchy or yellow skin, fine hair, depression, dry mouth, loss of bone strength, etc ("Anorexia nervosa", 2013).  According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders around a total of .5 to 3.7% of women suffer from anorexia at some point in their lives.  It has also been recorded that about 20% of all women with eating disorders will die prematurely due to problems stemming from their eating disorder, whether it be medical problems or suicide.  Overall, 4% of the population dies from anorexia a year ("Eating disorders statistics", 2013).
     

A person can be tested for anorexia by doing different medical tests such as a bone density test, urinalysis, liver and kidney function test, an EKG, or many other tests ("Anorexia nervosa", 2013).  These tests will show what is going on inside of the person, so no matter how much they lie about eating they will not be able to lie on these tests.  There are many treatments for anorexia but the first major step for treatment to occur is convincing the person that something is wrong.  Due to the fact that most people will not admit to having an eating disorder they will only enter treatment once their illness has become very severe, and possibly life threatening ("Anorexia nervosa", 2013).  Typically treatment will be

administered in day programs or lengthy hospital stays.  The main goal of therapy is to get the person to accept themselves for who they are which can be done through different techniques like increasing social interaction, creating an eating schedule, and cutting back on exercising amounts.  A major part of therapy is talking.  It is important for the person to talk about what they think and what is bothering them, with the therapist helping to provide the person with helpful information and advice on how to help themselves ("Anorexia nervosa", 2013).  Trying to break through to a person with anorexia can be a very difficult tasks, but it is a very important one.  Anorexia is a very serious disease effecting people of all ages and it needs to be addressed in a very serious manner due to the ability of anorexia to kill a person.  Anorexia is a disease that effects someone their whole life and so it is always a constant struggle for a person to stay on track and keep themselves healthy and from going back down a bad spiral.


References

Anorexia nervosa. (2013, Jan. 24). Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000362.htm

Eating disorders statistics. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/