Anorexia Nervos A Slow Killer

Incidences of Anorexia Nervosa have appeared to increase sharply in the USA, UK and western European countries since the beginning of the 60s (Gordon, 2001). The increasing prevalence of the disease has led the World Health Organisation to declare eating disorders a global priority area within adolescent mental health (Becker et al. 2011). Anorexia has in many ways become a modern epidemic (Gordon, 2000) and with a mortality rate of 10% per decade (Gorwood et al. 2003), the highest of any mental disorder (Bulik et al. 2006), it is an epidemic that social and biological scientists have been working tirelessly to understand.

At present, these eating disorders have an effect on roughly 25 million Americans, of which almost 25% are of the male gender. Out of all the psychological disorders, anorexia has the highest mortality rate. The whys and wherefores include malnourishment, substance abuse and reckless suicides. Eating disorders can happen to anyone; no matter whether they’re male or female, rich or poor, old or young. According to many researchers, eating disorders are caused by more than just food. There are numerous

With Anorexia Nervosa, there is a strong fear of weight gain and a preoccupation with body image. Those diagnosed may show a resistance in maintaining body weight or denial of their illness. Additionally, anorexics may deny their hunger, have eating rituals such as excessive chewing and arranging food on a plate, and seek privacy when they are eating. For women, they go through immediate body changes from abnormal to no menstruation periods and develop lanugo all over their bodies. Characteristics of an anorexic individual also consist of extreme exercise patterns, loosely worn clothing, and maintain very private lives. Socially, to avoid criticism or concern from others, they may distant themselves from friends and activities they once enjoyed. Instead, their primary concerns revolve around weight loss, calorie intake, and dieting. In regards to health, many will have an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure, some can develop osteoporosis, severe dehydration which can result in kidney failure, and overall feel weak (Robbins, 27-29). It has been reported that Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in America (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org).

Eating disorders have become an increasing public health problem once thought to be an affliction amongst young women, now an epidemic across culture and gender boundaries. Anorexia gives rise to serious socio-economic and bio-psychological circumstances of our ever vast, growing society. Awareness of eating disorders have increased but perhaps only in proportion to its advancement of its research and treatment. That which still leaves us in a position for a much greater demand for education and heightened awareness of this perplexing disease.

Three Eating Disorders that will be discussed throughout the rest of this review will include, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder. The DSM_IV_TR describes the conditions under which these three eating disorders are characterized. Anorexia Nervosa is a very serious illness with severe implications in regards to health. It is classified by the DSM-IV-TR as weighing less than the third percentile for body mass index for ones age and sex, fearing weight gain, having a disturbed perception of body image and on hormonal contraception or the absence of menstruation (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Bulimia Nervosa is a second eating disorder described by the

Some of the first documented cases of Anorexia Nervosa were religious in origin. As early as the 12th century we saw women, particularly in Western Christianity, known as “Miracle Maidens” who were highly esteemed for their self-control, their “holy anorexia” was thought of as a gift from God. Some scholars have stated “the intense relationship

Although one in 200 American women suffers from an eating disorder and an estimated 8 million people suffer from this disease today – seven million women and one million men, eating disorders are nothing new (Mantell). Anorexia has origins as far back as the 12th and 13th century. Religious women, often referred to as “holy anorexics”, were praised for their fasting practices; even denoted to as true saints (Kuenhal). These women held very high positions and status’s in the church for their holy obligation and will to fast for their lord. However, bulimia was significantly demonstrated by vomitoriums in the time of Caesar (700 B.C.). The famous line “Eat, drink, and be merry.” was highly stressed; it included vomiting, so that said individual could return to their eating, their drinking, and their exuberance. People do not often realize how far back nervosa anorexia, nervosa bulimia, and binge eating traces to. Catherine of Siena was thought to have some

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that consists of self-regulated food restriction in which the person strives for thinness and also involves distortion of the way the person sees his or her own body. An anorexic person weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight. The prevalence of eating disorders is between .5-1% of women aged 15-40 and about 1/20 of this number occurs in men. Anorexia affects all aspects of an affected person's life including emotional health, physical health, and relationships with others (Shekter-Wolfson et al 5-6). A study completed in 1996 showed that anorexics also tend to possess traits that are obsessive in nature and carry heavy emotional

Anorexia has dangerous effects on the body and the mind. It has the highest rate of death of any mental illness. Between 5% and 20% of people who develop the disease eventually die from it (Lee, 2008). It may start as simple dieting, but can quickly roller coaster out of control such as not eating at all. The person’s main focus is food, dieting, and the fear of weight gain. Others see them as being very thin but they themselves see a distorted fat image when they look in the mirror.

Anorexia nervosa is a deadly disease in which any one, at any age or any time in their life can develop. Mayo clinic says “it is an eating disorder characterized by an abnormally low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of body weight.” This compulsive disorder brings symptoms that are developed and can be minor to even death

Anorexia is a kind of eating disorder disease. It makes people lose more weight than normal. The people with these disease see themselves as overweight, even when they are not. The most people evicted by this disorder are females. Also, it is one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses in young women. Furthermore, these sickness scored the highest death rates of any mental health. In addition, it has two subtypes, and both subtypes are very dangers illnesses that need help from professional people. The first type is restricting. The people with the first type there behaviors usually be like skip meals, fasting, and count the calories in unnatural way. The second type is purging. It is similar to the first type. But it

?Anorexia nervosa, as we know, is a psychological disorder that is defined as the “loss of appetite”. Although the disease is rare and dramatic, in 2007 it was only “affecting about 1% of women and 0.3% of men”(Cacioppo and Freberg, 2013, p.302). Those percentages are low but can equate to a large number of Americans. The biological dangers of anorexia can be very large, including the possibility of death. The disorder carries many symptoms such as low body weight, dry and yellow skin, increased sensitivity to cold, a distorted image of oneself, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems.

As the term "anorexia nervosa" did not exist until 1873” (The first anorexic). In the western world one of the first accounts of anorexia nervosa was during “the 12th and 13th centuries, most famously Saint Catherine of Siena who denied herself food as part of a spiritual denial of self” (A History of Eating Disorders). Most cases of anorexia had to do with fasting as a religious or spiritual experience. However for the women of the Victorian period being thin had transformed and became a way for them to feel successful instead of powerless. It wasn’t till 1970 that the disorder was able to reach the public as it wasn’t just the upper-class that was suffering from anorexia. Again anorexia evolved into the "twentieth-century women progressively idealized the lean, almost 'tubular' body type, deprived of the symbolic emphasis of fertility and motherhood. The thinness of the 'new woman' expressed her sexual liberation and rejection of the traditional female role" (Bremer, J.). Whereas before woman needed to look healthy and capable of having and raising children, now women were aiming to achieve independence the need to be those thing were

“In the United States, 20 million women… suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life, including anorexia nervosa…” (NEDA, 2010). Twenty-million females is a very large portion of America. Not only is this a very large number, this number only represents the number of patients that seek help with this problem and get diagnosed with anorexia nervous (NEDA, 2010). As we can see from this large number of only the cases that are reported, anorexia nervosa is a serious problem; especially in females in the United States. Because this disease can be life changing, it is important that we notice the assumed causes, symptoms, and treatments of this disorder in order to help those struggling with

Eating disorders are well known in the American culture. It is most likely that people in America know at least one person who has or is currently suffering from an eating disorder. Eating disorders take many forms such as bulimia, anorexia nervosa, binge-eating, and even obesity. The focus of this paper however will be solely on anorexia nervosa. It will breakdown the basics of anorexia as well as compare and contrast the movie Starving in Suburbia with scholarly literature.