The Dancer Disorder : Hungry

Anorexia is an emotional and physical illness in which a person refuses to eat. This can be a fatal disorder. The word anorexia means without appetite; nervosa means nervous. Hence, anorexia nervosa is best translated as a nervous loss of appetite. Anorexics are extremely hungry most of the time and extremely underweight, but they refuse to eat because of their fear of gaining weight (Anorexia Nervosa, Wuhl 483). This disorder often includes depression, irritability, withdrawal, and peculiar behaviors such as compulsive rituals, strange eating habits, and division of foods into "good/bad" and "safe/dangerous" categories (Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders Inc., Mitchell 11). Dieting may represent avoidance of, or ineffective attempts to cope with the demands of a new life stage such as adolescence (American Academy). For dancers, this eating disorder can be brought on if a dancer changes studios and needs to reestablish her place in the hierarchy. If a

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 is an eating disorder and a mental health condition that could potentially be life-threatening. People with anorexia try to keep their weight as low as possible by restricting the amount of food they eat. They often have a distorted image of themselves, thinking that they're fat when they're not.  Some people with the condition also exercise excessively, and some eat a lot of food in a short space of time (binge eating) and then make themselves sick. People affected by anorexia often go to great attempts to hide their behaviour from their family and friends by lying about eating and what they have eaten. Anorexia is linked to

Anorexics put other people’s feelings in front of theirs. They also feel that the only thing in their lives is food and their weight and this shows that they have low self-esteem for themselves. “Signs and symptoms are noticeable weight loss, becoming withdrawn, excessive exercise, fatigue, always being cold, and muscle weakness” (www.mirror-mirror.org 1). There are many more signs and symptoms for this illness. “An estimated 10

Anorexia nervosa is a life threatening eating disorder defined by a refusal to maintain fifteen percent of a normal body weight through self-starvation (Arnold, page26). Ninety-five percent of anorexics are women between the ages of twelve and eighteen, however, "…in the past twenty years, this disorder has become a growing threat to high school and college students (Arnold, page 39)". Anorexia produces a multitude of symptoms, and if not treated, anorexia can lead to permanent physical damage or death.

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

There are lots of warning signs of someone who has anorexia nervosa. If someone has dramatic weight loss, constantly makes remarks about being fat even though they have lost a lot of weight, if they have anxiety about gaining weight, or having a food rituals. A food ritual is eating foods in a certain order, rearranging food on a plate, or excessive chewing. Someone with anorexia may begin to stop hanging out with their friends and doing other basic activities, instead they only have exercise on their mind. Lots of people anorexia will make excuses to get out of eating too keep from getting

People with anorexia usually always think they are overweight. They usually limit what they eat, will eat and then make themselves puke, exercise constantly, refuse to eat around other, take diet pills and many more behaviors one with anorexia will do. There are very many symptoms a person with anorexia may have but a few main ones are "blotchy or yellow skin, poor memory, depression, dry mouth, thinning of the bones wasting away muscle and loss of all body fat." If there is someone you know that constantly goes to the restroom after every meal that is one of the biggest signs of an eating disorder (Berger).

Anorexia Nervosa is currently viewed by society as an extremely complicated disorder, misunderstood, over looked, and misjudged based on the stigmas of society. People who suffer from eating disorders like Anorexia do not always report the fact they are in living with the disorder because they are ashamed or scared of what might happen to them or what people will say. An individual may also feel that they do not met the exact criteria of Anorexia Nervosa in the DSM 5. An example of the DSM 5 criteria for Anorexia Nervosa is an individual purposely takes too little nourishment, has below average body weight, fearful of gaining weight, refusal to keep a normal weight, distorted body perception

Imagine waking up one day and feeling “fat, ugly, and sloppy”. Many individuals wake up with these feeling of disappointment from the way they look or what the scale may say. Due to an obsession of trying to look like others, many women tend to have a dangerous opposition with trying to lose weight so they begin to starve themselves by not eating. In the dance world, this is very common because of the fear of being or looking FAT! These individuals are considered to have an eating disorder, which can be anorexia, bulimia and/or binge eating disorder (BED).

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder often found in young adolescent women, that has been characterized by a distorted attitude towards weight and body image, a set of behaviors calculated to produce weight loss and other physiological and psychological symptoms. Physiological symptoms include (according to the DSM III- R criteria) starvation, amenorrhoea, and a refusal to maintain weight above 85% of their ideal weight. Psychological symptoms include an obsessive pursuit of thinness, along with obvious body preoccupation, and an incessant rumination about food. In addition, they are also engaged in compulsive calorie counting and excessive physical exercise. The

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

Eating disorders may initially be a choice not to eat but it becomes an addiction, similar to how smoking or drinking becomes addictive. Ballerinas are more likely to dislike their body because their body may not fit their body goals. “Body dissatisfaction is present among 37% to 84% of ballet dancers” (Ringham). Similar to how some teens idolize celebrities’ rich lifestyles, ballerinas idolize professional dancers’ body physiques. In the dancing world, having a skinny body is praised. It is seem as a necessity as a dancer, when it really is not. The percentage is unfortunately a high amount, which means that the eating disorders must be stopped. Coaches and dance teachers are beginning to reach out to any of their students that seems to have an eating disorder, by monitoring their behaviors and maybe their eating habits if permitted. It is unfortunate to have dancers develop eating disorders from a hobby and passion that they love. “Anorexia [an eating disorder where one starves themselves] is something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life, however, and truly getting over it is a long process” (Cappelle). Eating disorders are a huge obstacle for dancers because it affects their body and it will slowly affect the way they dance and perceive the world as well. People who suffer from eating disorders

Food, what is it and why do humans need it? Food gives humans the energy that they need to carry out daily activities. So, what happens when we don’t provide the body with the food that it needs? The human body is very complex and is driven by certain nutrients such as potassium, sodium, and glucose to name a few. These essential nutrients are what drive the body to perform without complications. Those who do not provide the body with enough food are said to have Anorexia or Bulimia. Individuals with with these disorders tend to be very active individuals such as dancers, gymnast, or athletes. Other circumstances included those who have disturbed body images that are related to being pressured to be a perfectionist. The main focus of this paper is to make others aware of these disorders and to help people understand that eating disorders are dangerous and those people with these disorders need help overcoming the situation. Due to the lack of awareness of eating disorders, dancers are at an increased risk for developing unhealthy eating habits, a solution to this is requiring them to follow a healthy diet and nutrition program.

The other major type of eating disorder is Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by constant dieting, rapid weight loss and the feeling of being too fat during weight loss. Most anorexics are women and teenage girls, who see themselves as being overweight even though they are deathly underweight. The term "Anorexia Nervosa" means loss of appetite due to nerves, but the people with anorexia do not actually lose their appetite until the late stages of their starvation. Until then, they do feel hungry but they will not eat. There are numerous physical signs of anorexia, but there are four main ones. There is rapid loss of body fat, wasting away of body fat, pale dry skin , and irregular heart beat. An anorexic may also have dehydration and fainting may occur.