Causes Of Anorexia Nervosa

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.

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).

Anorexia nervosa, otherwise stated as anorexia, is an eating disorder that occurs when an individual restricts themselves from necessary energy intake which leads to significantly low body weight. Other characteristics of this disorder include: intense fear of becoming fat or gaining weight, persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, and disturbances of perception and experience of their own body weight and shape (DSM V, 2013). Effective treatments are still trying to be researched for this disorder, as there is not a “one size fits all” for people of all age groups, living situations, etc. Since adolescents with anorexia are such a vulnerable population,

It was very interesting to find that those with anorexia nervosa find more positives about their disorder rather than more negatives. Serpell (1999) states that, “One of the most interesting features of anorexia nervosas which sets it apart from many other conditions is the highly valued nature of anorexic symptoms. This is expressed in patients’ generally positive beliefs about their condition and contributes to their ambivalence about treatment (pg. 177). I think that with this article, it makes it more difficult for researchers to really find an effective treatment plan for those with anorexia nervosa partly because they find so many positive beliefs about their disorder and partly because maybe those with the disorder may not take treatment seriously or it may be more difficult to treat because they think so highly of their

Another aspect of anorexia nervosa suffers that can halt treatment is the personality traits that have been found to put children at higher risk of eating disorders. The traits are being anxious, perfectionistic, obsessive personality and negative self-evaluation that are displayed before the onset of the disorder (Kaplan). Research has shown that these traits are still persist after treatment and

Anorexia Nervosa is an emotional disorder that causes its victims to have an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. It is known to be the third most common eating disorder among adolescents. Many who suffer from the disorder have a strong fear of gaining weight and they 're very determined to prevent any weight gain. AN patients are also incapable of recognizing the severity of their condition. In the article entitled, "A Factor Analysis of the Meanings of Anorexia Nervosa: Intrapsychic, Relational, and Avoidant Dimensions and Their Clinical Correlates", Enrica Marzola explains, "AN sufferers often refuse treatments, show poor compliance with therapy leading to high dropout rates, relapse, and high mortality" (Marzola 2). Marzola examines how many patients become very attached to their illness and do not wish to be recovered from it. In addition, Not only do many AN patients believe that the disorder has help them gain their ideal body image, but they 've also described their starvation as a way to escape from any negative emotions, strengthen their identity, and reveals their distress. Enrica Marzola also addresses, "These instruments confirmed that AN sufferers experience a

After reading, “Anorexia Nervosa: Friend or Foe?” by Serpell et. al., in 1998, “Bulimia Nervosa: Friend or Foe? The Pros and Cons of Bulimia Nervosa,” by Serpell and Treasure in 2001, and viewing the documentary, Dying to be Thin, from PBS in 2000, I found several significant points within this research. Specifically, AN is the deadliest of all psychiatric disorders and the most difficult psychiatric illness to treat. As mentioned in the video Dying to be Thin, while detection as well as treatment are critical for individuals suffering from AN and other eating disorders, the potential related health risks may be serious as well as irreversible, including osteoporosis, cardiac arrest, and amenorrhea leading to infertility as well significant

Anorexia Nervosa is the condition when an individual abstains from food in order to lose weight or prevent more weight gain. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV(DSM-IV) there are four aspects of criteria to be diagnosed with anorexia: a refusal to maintain weight above what is minimally normal for one’s age and height, and extreme fear of weight gain, distorted body image, and (in females) having amenorrhea(missing three or more consecutive menstrual cycles.)(DSM-IV, 2000:589) Anorexia not only affects weight, but also alters bone growth, neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain, and electrolytes.

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 nervosa is a disorder which heightens the ideas of fear in an individual, particularly the phobia of gaining weight. People with the disorder pine to achieve a body that is unattainable, leading to obsessions about food. Fear is a driving emotion for the disorder, and often it is this emotion which causes prolonged suffering. This paper will go over the DSM-5’s diagnostic criteria, the prevalence of the disorder, the circumstances of onset, etiology, and finally a case example. The case example will illustrate how the disorder can be long-lived and affect relationships. Having a clinical understanding of anorexia nervosa allows for persons outside of the disorder the ability to relate to the victims.

Several databases and journal articles have been included in this literature search. Credits for the access to these databases are for the Medical Library of the National Guard Health Services. This Paper emphasize its contents about the prevalence of Anorexia Nervosa among females in general worldwide. So these are the the four terms used in the search: Anorexia Nervosa, prevalence, young adult females, eating disorders. This brief literature search gives the information summary of these databases and journal articles.

Eating disorders are severe disturbances in eating behaviors, such as eating too little or eating too much. “Anorexia nervosa affects nearly one in 200 Americans in their lives (three-quarters of them female)” (Treating anorexia nervosa). Anorexia, when translated into Greek means “without appetite” which is not true for all suffering from anorexia most people with this disorder have not lost their appetite they simply have to ignore it. People with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight and have convinced themselves that they are overweight even if they are the opposite of overweight. Since the way that they view themselves is in a negative light they starve themselves and put their lives at risk. “In the most severe

Anorexia Nervosa is known as “anorexia.” However, this disease should not be mixed up with the term anorexia which is simply a lack or loss of appetite, which in fact individuals who suffer from this disease refuse to maintain their healthy recommended body weight. Our text titles Nutrition Essentials tells us that someone who suffers from anorexia nervosa keeps a “body weight, that’s 15% or more below the average weight for his or her height, (Schiff 298.) They develop an unhealthy obsession fearful of gaining weight and becoming obese according to the authors of the text,” when dieting becomes dangerous.” People suffering from the illness typically set impractical and unattainable body goals. Furthermore, they can view themselves as fat and obese when on the contrary they look like a bag of bones. (Michel 5). Anorexics use their weight, shape, and size as the basis for their self-confidence and self-

Fairborn (2005) points out that there is a range of treatment options and a variety of treatment settings for anorexia nervosa, however there is inadequate empirical support for this abundance of options as what minimal research on the treatment has been inconclusive. One reasoning behind this is that anorexia nervosa has been an uncommon disorder and sample sizes for studies have been low. Furthermore, the lack of evidence based treatment research can be attributed to the individual’s avoidance of treatment and dropping out of treatment. Many individuals with anorexia nervosa are unwilling to change as their identity and self-worth are intertwined with their distorted body image; they tend to deny that anything is wrong with their weight and are ambivalent on changing (Abbate-Daga, Amianto, Delsedime, De-Bacco & Fassino,

Anorexia nervosa is listed in DSM-5 as a Feeding and Eating Disorder alongside bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). AN is characterised by symptoms that include dangerously low body weight, intense fear of fat or weight gain, abnormal cognitions that lead to an over-evaluation of the importance of body weight, shape and size, indifference about the disorders seriousness (APA, 2013). It is a multi-determined psychiatric disorder with an interplay between sociocultural, biological, physical and mental factors that make it extremely difficult to treat successfully (Chang & Bazarova, 2016; Boraska et al., 2014). AN affects approximately 3.7% of NZ population, the average duration is five years, with the highest prevalent rate (10%) in teenage females (M = 17 years). While predominantly a young white middle-upper class female disorder, recent research shows a significant increase in diagnosis of males,