Anorexia

Anorexia INTRODUCTION Anorexia nervosa is a mental illness in which a person has an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of their weight and body shape. People with this illness believe themselves to be fat even when their weight is so low that their health is in danger. A person with anorexia nervosa severely restricts food intake and usually becomes extremely thin. This eating disorder rarely occurs in life after 25 years of age, because it mainly affects teenage girls. In Australia children as young as 8, and in one instance a 4-year-old has been affected by the eating disorder. (Health & Medicine Week) The population of men with anorexia is growing. Anorexia is a very serious disorder that becomes a physical, mental, and a social problem. Anorexic people can only see themselves as overweight, even though they are skinny. Most anorexics have an intense fear of weight gain and are never satisfied with their weight loss. (Hales) Anorexia often starts as a diet, and later becomes more and more severe in which it might lead to death. Anorexia may cause serious mood swings, starving, breaking down of muscles and critical body organs. Many are so focused on outward anorexia, weight, people, disorder, health, treatment, nervosa, heart, often, eating, problems, physical, person, loss, illness, food, britannica, body, patients, low, gaining, family, sometimes, problem, netdoctor, medical, life, girls, gain, fear, develop, bone, because, baby, about, themselves