Symptoms, Causes, And Treatments For Anorexia Nervosa

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).

According to the Mayo Clinic (2016), eating disorders are “conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions, and your ability to function in important areas of life.” One such eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Not to be confused with anorexia, which is simply a general loss of appetite that can be attributed to many medical ailments, anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder and mental illness (Nordqvist, 2015). Anorexia nervosa is estimated to affect about .9% of women and .3% of men in their lifetime (“Eating Disorder Statistics & Research,” n.d.). In general, the disorder is commonly characterized by a distorted body image or self-concept, critically low weight (with respect to the patient’s height and age), and an irrational fear of becoming fat or an intense desire to be thin. There are two subtypes to this eating disorder: restrictive and binge/purge. In the restrictive type, the individual limits caloric intake and may compulsively over-exercise. In the binge/purge type, the individual consumes a considerable amount of food in a short period of time (binging) and then deliberately vomits (purging), takes laxatives, or fasts intensely in order to compensate for the food eaten (“General Information: Anorexia Nervosa,” n.d.). In either case, anorexia nervosa is undoubtedly a dangerous and alarming illness.

This article explored the topic of identifying symptoms in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). The Eating Disorder Inventory led a study, conducted by D. Garner, that studied females with AN to classify behavior exclusive to the psychological disorder. The researchers recognized the problem of trying to identify any restrictive manners or detrimental behaviors that could identify a person with AN. The purpose of the research was to find tell-tale symptoms or psychological indicators of AN in patients.

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.

Anorexia nervosa is a severe mental illness which carries mental, physical and psychological consequences. It is often characterised by low body weight and image distortion, along with obsessive concerns and fears about the gaining of weight.(1) This constant anxiety of weight gain manifests itself through the deprivation of food and excessive exercise. Anorexia Nervosa can broken down further into the restricting type where weight loss is achieved through the restriction of calories,(2) or the purging type where vomiting, laxatives and diuretics(2) are used to gain the similar outcomes. Both of these types have severe impacts on an individuals health and knowledge of the symptoms, care and impacts it has is imperative.

“Anorexia nervosa is a self-induced starvation resulting from a fear of fatness, even though the patient is underweight.” (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2016, p. 1238) This disorder is most commonly seen in adolescent girls and women but can be seen in boys and men. Care for patients with anorexia nervosa can be quite complicated but is essential for their recovery. If these patients do not receive proper care they can deteriorate quickly and death will then be inevitable. “Approximately 15% of all patients suffering from anorexia nervosa die from the disorder: two-thirds from malnutrition, one-third as a result of suicide.” (Bakker, et al., 2011, pp. 16-22) Care plans for these patients will need to include physical, emotional, and psychological goals and interventions.

A patient with anorexia nervosa, or shortened as “anorexia”, has a distorted body image and an exaggerated fear of becoming overweight or obese, so a deliberate effort is made to lose weight (Nordqvist) .When looking at the physical appearance of people dealing with anorexia you will see someone who is underweight and unhealthy. Some individuals will also try to lose more weight because of their psychological state of mind. Those with this disorder or disease have increased sensitivity to gaining

Eating disorders are becoming a greater concern in our appearance-focused culture due to the rising number of cases and the health risks they impose on those afflicted. Anorexia nervosa is the most dangerous of these disorders due to its extremely high mortality rate. It is both a medical disorder and a psychological disorder, and its symptoms and consequences affect anorexia nervosa patients long after they have received treatment. Many factors must be considered when studying the onset of this disease, determining which individuals will develop it, and forming a plan of action to overcome it.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder. It’s director, Thomas Insel, estimates over 10% of those suffering will pass away from complications of the illness. This statistic can not only be attributed to its widespread effect on adolescents (especially teenage girls) but how it hurt’s the overall health of the infected. The overall health of one’s life can be measured by their control and calm physical, mental, and social states; Anorexia Nervosa detriments every aspect of a sufferer’s health. It does this by damaging one’s physical body, creating anxiety and stress on one’s mental psyche, and by taking a social toll on one’s

Anorexia nervosa is a very serious disease that involves the mind and the body. This paper will describe the disease itself, signs and symptoms, diagnostic measures, treatment and complications, and nursing considerations. After reading this paper the reader will be more knowledgeable about the disease and how to acknowledge patients who are suffering with anorexia nervosa and treat them accordingly.

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

As defined by the National Eating Disorders Association, “Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.” (NEDA). The term “Anorexia Nervosa” literally means “neurotic loss of

The three tripods of healthy living is eating right, adequate exercise, and sleep tight. When this balance is broke, an individual’s health condition can get into trouble. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder, which can create imbalance to the health cycle in a significant and dangerous manner causing even fatality to the individual. It is originated from Latin words, which means nervous incompetence to eat. The same disease is a psychiatric condition where the person fears unrealistic weight gain, face uncontrollable undernourishment, and distortion of the physical appearance. This is a serious disorder to be addressed because of the danger it causes to the public health. The same disorder is seen commonly in teenage

The eating disorder is characterized by refusal to eat a normal amount of food, and a great fear of gaining weight or staying at a normal weight considering the person’s age and height. Other common symptoms related to Anorexia Nervosa include distorted body image and a great fear of gaining weight. The treatment for the disorder often includes of therapy and rehabilitation, although a meta-analysis covering 119 study series concluded that only 33% of the disorder sufferers fully recover, and 20% do not find treatment helpful at all, and therefore remain chronically ill (Steinhausen,