The self-starvation that is a hallmark of anorexia nervosa is caused by a complex psychiatric disorder.
It is estimated to occur in approximately 0.5% of Australians and New Zealanders, mostly adolescent girls or young women.
(Only about 10 per cent of people with anorexia are males; they are often weight-conscious adolescent boys who are dancers or athletes.)
The cause of anorexia nervosa --
A medical term for a relentless pursuit of extreme thinness and refusal to eat so as to maintain normal weight ---is unknown. Researchers belive that a combination of hormonal, social and psychological factors are responsible. The disease often begins in adolescence, a time of hormonal and psychological change. Convinced that she is too fat, regardless of how much she actually weight, a girl beings obsessive dieting. Some girls adopt a very restricted diet while others become overly preoccupied with food, often planning and preparing elaborate meals that they then refuse to eat. When the girl with anorexia does eat, she may resort afterwards to selfimduced vomiting or laxative abuse to avoid gaining weight. Many also exercise obsessively.
Take note of telltale signs. --
As the disease progresses, menstruation ceases and nutritional deficiencies develop. Many girls with anorexia try to hide their thinness by wearing oversized clothes; physical indications of anorexia include fatigue, nervousness or hypersctivity, dry skin, hair loss and intolerance to cold. More serious consequences include cardiac arrhyrhmias, loss of bone mass, kidney failure and in about 6 per cent of cases, death.
CONSUME --
AVOID --
It is estimated to occur in approximately 0.5% of Australians and New Zealanders, mostly adolescent girls or young women.
(Only about 10 per cent of people with anorexia are males; they are often weight-conscious adolescent boys who are dancers or athletes.)
The cause of anorexia nervosa --
A medical term for a relentless pursuit of extreme thinness and refusal to eat so as to maintain normal weight ---is unknown. Researchers belive that a combination of hormonal, social and psychological factors are responsible. The disease often begins in adolescence, a time of hormonal and psychological change. Convinced that she is too fat, regardless of how much she actually weight, a girl beings obsessive dieting. Some girls adopt a very restricted diet while others become overly preoccupied with food, often planning and preparing elaborate meals that they then refuse to eat. When the girl with anorexia does eat, she may resort afterwards to selfimduced vomiting or laxative abuse to avoid gaining weight. Many also exercise obsessively.
Take note of telltale signs. --
As the disease progresses, menstruation ceases and nutritional deficiencies develop. Many girls with anorexia try to hide their thinness by wearing oversized clothes; physical indications of anorexia include fatigue, nervousness or hypersctivity, dry skin, hair loss and intolerance to cold. More serious consequences include cardiac arrhyrhmias, loss of bone mass, kidney failure and in about 6 per cent of cases, death.
CONSUME --
- A Variety of nutritious foods in small amounts.
- High-protein liquid supplements and multivitamin supplements, if approved by a doctor or dietitian.
AVOID --
- Diet soft drinks and low-kilojoule or low-fat diet foods.
- Appetite suppressants, diuretics and laxatives.
C A U T I O N : -
Younger women are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, a serious, often chronic and life-threatening condition. Although the term 'anorexia ' literally means loss of appetite, people with anorexia nervosa actually ignore hunger and deliberately control their desire tobeat.
Constant obsessive dieting may result in severe anorexia and sufferers may be at risk of death from starvation.
Should someone you know exhibit the following warning signs, contact a doctor knowledgeable about eating disorders immediately.
- Preoccupation with food
- Distorted body image, thinking they are fat when they are actually bone-thin
- Intense fear of gaining weight
- Refusal to eat
- Deliberate self-starvation
- Denial of hunger
- Obsessive exercise
- Loss of scalp hair
- Brittle nails and hair
- Constant complaining about feeling cold (due to low body temperature)
- A fine layer of hair on the body or face (like on a newborn baby)
- Depression
- Irregular or absent periods.
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