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Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: anorexia nervosa + anorexia nervosa: + anorexia  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)

MSN India The lowdown on eating disorders Manila Standard Today, Philippines - Anorexia nervosa (or anorexia) is the psychiatric diagnosis wherein the sufferer fears gaining weight. Body image distortion and low body weight are common ... Dangerous form of Eating Disorder Anoreixa Nervosa Affecting Men Too TheMedGuru Anorexia athletica, the price that many female athletes pay for gold Times Online Now, men too are falling prey to anorexia Times of India Electric New Paper - Little About all 18 news articles » Help for eating disorders: Proposed law would require Dekalb Daily Chronicle, IL - Aug 3, 2008 White has battled anorexia nervosa since 2000. EMILY OLSON | emolson@daily-chronicle.com Cristy White sits in her Aurora home Friday cutting out fish shapes ... Anorexia nervosa: FAQ Canada.com, Canada - Jul 21, 2008 Although girls and women are most often affected, boys and men can also suffer from anorexia nervosa. The first symptoms of anorexia nervosa often begin by ... History of violence surfaces for man charged in murder; In 2003 ... Cape Coral Daily Breeze, FL - ?This disorder also increases risk of also having Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Emotionally Unstable ... Anorexia, 'bigorexia' may have same genetic roots Reuters - Jul 9, 2008 In five twin pairs, each including one male with anorexia nervosa, Finnish researchers found a "striking familial liability" for traits related to the ... Anorexic in public: glorifying illness - or helping out? Globe and Mail all 8 news articles » Sydney Morning Herald To hell and back: appetite for life regained Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - Jul 25, 2008 Lucy Howard-Taylor is "comfortably along the path" to recovery from anorexia nervosa and hoping to help others. IT'S been six months since Lucy ... National Post Anorexia can take 25 years off life: report National Post, Canada - Jul 17, 2008 "Anorexia nervosa is basically not recognized as a serious disease by society and government, in my opinion, certainly not compared to heart disease and ... Drug helps anorexia patients gain weight, feel happy CTV.ca, Canada - Jul 14, 2008 Anorexia nervosa affects about 0.5 per cent of women between the ages of 15 and 24. Patients become obsessed with being thin and have a fear of being ... Independent.co.uk Web Independent all 2 news articles » 'People thought I was a freak. I kind of liked that' guardian.co.uk, UK - Aug 2, 2008 Plus she was secretly suffering from anorexia. She'd started not eating as far back as boarding school and was in the habit of weighing herself every day. ... Eating disorders -- boys suffer too Irish Independent, Ireland - Jul 28, 2008 It is a scenario faced by all families of children struck down by anorexia nervosa. In their relentless pursuit of thinness, the desperate measures to avoid ...

Anorexia Nervosa

This condition occurs when a person has a distorted image of her own body and refuses to eat enough to stay healthy for fear of getting fat.

A person who periodically gorges on food and then makes herself vomit or takes laxatives and other substances to get rid of the food has bulimia.

Many factors lead to anorexia.

Western society puts a lot of pressure on people to be thin. Two out of three teenage girls have taken steps to control their weight, yet only about one percent of girls between the ages of 12 and 18 develop anorexia.

About 95% of the people with this condition are girls or women. It usually affects teens. It mostly affects people in middle and upper socioeconomic classes.

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Anorexia is rare in parts of the world where there is a shortage of food.

Many who develop it are intelligent, have high standards for success and achievement, and are usually meticulous, compulsive and obsessive.

Anorexia can be mild and brief or ongoing and life-threatening. Its onset may be subtle. Signs include:

• Growing focus on food, such as reading about it, hoarding it, concealing it, wasting it, collecting recipes and cooking elaborate meals for others. This tends to get worse as a person gets painfully thin.
  
• Anxiety about getting fat, especially in someone who already is thin
• In women, periods will stop
• Loss of interest in sex
• Denial that anything is wrong
• Lack of concern about the loss of weight
• Resistance to seeing a doctor or getting treatment
• Low heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature
• Swelling from fluid accumulation
• Fine, soft hair or excessive body and facial hair
• Depression

Persons with anorexia may either severely cut back how much food they eat or binge on food and then purge. The purging is done by vomiting or taking laxatives. Many also take diuretics. About half the people limit their food and the other half purge. Many persons with an eating disorder also exercise intensely to control their weight.

Anorexia causes many hormone changes. Estrogen and thyroid hormones may be low.

Rapid weight loss - or being more than 25% below ideal weight - can cause life-threatening changes in electrolytes and fluid balances. This can cause heart problems, dehydration and a tendency to faint. Purging and abusing diuretics will make the situation worse. Potentially, sudden death from abnormal heart rhythms may occur.

Diagnosis can usually be made on the basis of severe weight loss (at least 15% of body weight), the stopping of menstrual periods and psychological symptoms (denial of a problem and fears of being fat).

Between 10 to 20% of all people with anorexia die because of its impact on the body, particularly the heart.

Treatment usually has two phases:

• Immediate intervention to save the person's life and restore body weight
  
• Long-term therapy to improve psychological functioning and prevent relapse
  

The first is usually done in a hospital. The person is encouraged to eat. In some cases, they might be fed with a feeding tube passed through the nose and into the stomach.

Longer-term therapy begins after the patient is stabilized. It may include individual, group and family therapy. Consultation with a specialist in eating disorders can be useful. Anti-depressants may be given if the person is depressed. Selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors are useful for preventing relapses.