Eating Disorders: The Cause 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.

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,

Dr. Levenkron talks about Anorexia Nervosa as a pathological distortion of today’s society of being “Fashion-model thin.” This source is reliable because it is told from a doctor's/psychotherapists perspective of the disease. It informs and broadens my research on the pathological aspect of the disease. Dr. Steven Levenkron uses case studies and specific strategies to explain and help cure the disease.

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 and bulimia nervosa affect millions of people each year in the United States (1). Popular thought holds that these disorders are caused by women trying to fulfill a culturally imposed ideal body image which stresses thinness. As anorexia and bulimia have proven difficult to treat solely with a psychological-based treatment plan it is likely that there are many factors contributing to these disorders. Research has shown, however, that there is a significant biological component which leads to a manifestation of these disorders (2). Current ideas on the biological origins of anorexia and bulimia will be explored in this paper. These include areas ranging from

Individuals with anorexia nervosa are so successful at losing weight that they put their lives in a great deal of danger. Although dramatic weight loss is the most noticeable feature of the disease, anorexics also have an intense fear of obesity and pursue thinness with unparallelled ambition (Bruch, 1986). Anorexia is most common among females, with only about five percent of those suffering from the disease being male. It is also most likely to develop in young females as a result of societal pressures on women to remain slim. The DSM-4 criteria for anorexia nervosa contains the following factors : maintenance of a body weight

Anorexia Nervosa is a fairly common and very consequence psychiatric disorder that affects a person’s desire to consume nutrients because they believe that they are overweight. Women are more likely then men to develop this specific disorder and teenagers aged 15 to 19 are at the highest risk of anyone (Berends, Van Meijel, & Van Elburg, 2012). Individual’s affected by Anorexia Nervosa Disorder will refuse to maintain a healthy body weight for their size and instead will starve themselves in an attempt to loose weight. The lack of nutrients within their body and lack of fats left after starving themselves affects not only their physical functioning but also their psychological functioning. There has been much advancement in developing treatment for individuals affected by Anorexia Nervosa. Treatment typically consists of careful monitoring of the individual’s food intake, their weight, BMI, and their psychological state. However relapse is extremely common after full treatment occurs. It is estimated that 30-50% of individuals who are treated for Anorexia Nervosa will relapse, with the likelihood of relapse decreasing to almost zero two years after discharge (Berends, Van Meijel, & Van Elburg, 2012). Determining if an individual is going through relapse has been broken down into six key symptoms:

Anorexia Nervosa Eating illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating sickness; contain life-threatening feelings, attitudes, and actions surrounding heaviness and diet problems. Eating ailments are severe expressive and physical difficulties that can have lethal penalties for females and males. Anorexia nervosa comprise of insufficient food consumption leading to a heaviness that is evidently too little, Strong terror of weight expansion, fixation with weight and determined performance to stop weight gain, Confidence excessively connected to body appearance, and incapability to appreciate the harshness of the condition.

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

?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.

Although the exact cause of anorexia isn't known, studies show that it is possibly a combination of biological, psychological, and/or environmental factors ("Diseases and Conditions: Anorexia Nervosa, 2014). Scientists have yet to figure out exactly which gene(s) are involved in causing anorexia, but it can be acquired genetically, and surprisingly enough, it is seen more in twins than individual people ("Diseases and Conditions: Anorexia Nervosa, 2014). Young women can who have an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) personality can have an extreme obsession of perfectionism toward their body, which can make them become anorexic due to the fact that they don't think they are thin enough ("Diseases and Conditions: Anorexia Nervosa, 2014). By having OCD, young women are more vulnerable to being anorexic because it makes it easy for them to "...stick to strict diets and forgo food despite being hungry.." ("Diseases and Conditions: Anorexia Nervosa, 2014). Young women with OCD and anorexia nervosa usually have high anxiety levels and "...engage in restrictive eating to reduce it" ("Diseases and Conditions: Anorexia Nervosa, 2014). "Modern Western culture emphasizes thinness. Success and worth are often equated with being thin" ("Diseases and Conditions: Anorexia Nervosa, 2014).

Women in this era restricted their caloric intake not to necessary lose weight, but to imitate models of Jesus Christs and saints, such as St. Francs of Assissi. In 1689, the characteristics of Anorexia Nervosa were recognized as a medical condition in a publication authored by a notable English physician, Richard Morton (Habermas, 2015). The disorder further got under the medical spotlight when William Gull, a medical doctor, published ‘Anorexia Hysterica’ in 1868, a seminal paper that provided detailed descriptions of cases and treatment options. In 1952, AN was recognized as a Psychiatric disorder and was consequently categorized as a Psychophysiological Reaction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I); it was later moved to the Special Symptoms-Feeding Disturbance category in the second edition. A drastic increase in the number of AN cases noted in the 1960s and 1970 was largely attributed to the idolization of the thin female frame; sadly, Obsession with the body image became a motivating factor to fast excessively. Because of advances in the firld of neuroscience, AN is now considered a biologically based mental

The eating disorder anorexia nervosa is one of complex nature that is caused and sustained by many interconnected factors of life. Characterized by strict dieting, an unrealistic perception of body image, excessive exercise, depression, and OCD, this disorder has the ability to boycott the lives of many individuals (Pinel, 2014). In order to understand the effects that this disorder has, it is essential to look at the socio-cultural, psychological, and physiological factors this disorder can entail. In addition, gender discrepancy is evident in relation to anorexia nervosa, with females presenting anorexia nervosa more often than males due to the differing “ideal” body types of both sexes.

There is evidence that people with anorexia secrete abnormal amounts of various hormones. But, many researchers believe these imbalances are the results of emotional stress and severe dieting, not the case of them. In our culture, “thin is in” and dieting is “normal” behavior. The pressure to be “the best” may also be a factor in the disorder’s development. (PennSAHIC) People who intentionally starve themselves suffer from an eating disorder called anorexia nervosa. The disorder, which usually begins in young people around the time of puberty, involves extreme weight loss—at least 15 percent below the individual’s normal body weight. Many people with the disorder look emaciated but are convinced they are overweight. Sometimes they must be hospitalized to prevent starvation. An example of this will be illustrated in the following story: Deborah developed anorexia nervosa when she is 16. A rather shy, studious teenager, she tried hard to please everyone. She had an attractive appearance, but was slightly overweight. Like many teenager girls, she was interested in boys but concerned that she wasn’t pretty enough to get their attention. When her father jokingly remarked that she would never get a date if she didn’t take off same weight, she took him seriously and began to diet relentlessly- never believing she was thin even when she became extremely underweight. Soon after the pounds started dropping off, Deborah’s menstrual