Anorexia Nervosa

There are many eating disorders known to the public and the most known is Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa is a dangerous and deadly eating disorder that affects mainly females although there are some males may suffer from it also. The prime age one may start having this eating disorder starts around puberty, but some can start earlier than that, as low as nine or ten years old. It usually affects teenage girls but can affect boys and adult women. Many don’t understand the illness and don’t label it as an illness but it is. Anorexia Nervosa is a condition where the person literally starves himself or herself to become thin. This desire to become thin turns into an obsession. In one’s mind they can never be too thin.

Somehow, the person gets it in their mind that they are fat even when it’s obvious to everyone else that they are not fat and in reality are usually underweight. The obsession or struggle really has nothing to do with food it is about control of one’s live because the person may feel they have lost control over a certain part of their live or are under extreme stress and the only thing they can control is their weight. Many times an eating disorder stems from low self-esteem or a need to be perfect. The person looks in the mirror and dislikes what they see and it needs to be changed.

This obsession takes completely over their lives. They are truly obsessed with becoming and staying thin. One will often look in the mirror and “see” fat that is not there. They will often compare their bodies to others and desire to look like that or desire to be even thinner. When confronted by others with their thinness or possible eating disorder, the person will often become offended and deny they are too thin or are that they have an eating disorder. A person who is suffering from anorexia nervosa will eat as little as possible, maybe only lettuce, fruit, yogurt, or peanuts or just drink fluid all day. Some will even avoid drinking fluids because they fear weight gain from the fluid intake. Whatever they choose to eat, it is very little and amounts to no more than a cup of food all day. Of course, foods high in fat, carbs and sweets are often avoided, although, one may just eat a candy bar and that would be all they eat that day, which is obviously not enough food. The person will also avoid social gatherings where food will be served and will often eat alone or in secret to avoid any detection. Obvious symptoms are extreme weight loss and look emaciated or gaunt.

Although, others will make comments about the person being thin they will often believe they are still fat or need to lose weight in certain parts of the body. The person may also feel they have to keep losing weight in order to feel good about themselves. Many people suffering from this eating disorder often develop other eating disorders like Bulimia, which involves regurgitating food. Serious health problems and even death can occur. Starvation and dehydration can lead to all sorts of health problems, including problems with the heart, liver, kidneys, and brain. Intervention is necessary to prevent serious health problems and death. Most people suffering from the illness need to seek therapy. Some go too long and end up hospitalized where they are forced fed through a tube. Anorexia and other eating disorders are more common in the U.S. because of our obsession with being thin. Models and celebrities are pressured to be thin, which causes many of them to develop eating disorders, then young girls and women seek to look like these people. The obsession with being thin can lead to someone literally starving him or herself to death just to look a certain way on the outside that may not be healthy.