Seeing as the mental illness that claims the highest mortality is that of eating disorders, Anorexia Nervosa and the current health effects it has will be discussed. Currently in the United States of America it has been estimated that 30 million people have been diagnosed with the disorder known as Anorexia Nervosa (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 2018). Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder in which the person uses self- starvation as a means of reducing their body weight to below 85 percent of what is normal. Patients who are diagnosed with the disorder typically have a fear of gaining weight, have very restricted diets, and use excessive exercise regimens in order to burn off as many calories as possible.
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A sign of Anorexia can be observed through the actions of the individual such as cutting food into small pieces, counting the number of times an item is chewed, hiding food, chewing food and spitting it out, or refusing to eat around other people. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There is no known cause of Anorexia however, cultural influence as well as a significant lifestyle change or stressful event seem to have the biggest impacts over those who develop the disorder. It should also be noted that Anorexia and other eating disorders can cause the patient to form other disorders such as mood disorders, obsessive- compulsive disorder, and social phobia (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 2018). In order to diagnose someone who has Anorexia Nervosa, the patient must have a body mass index of a certain number or below. Body mass index also allows doctors to determine the severity to which the patient’s disorder has progresses …show more content…
There are four different levels to which a patient can be placed mild, moderate, severe, and extreme (Surgenor, L. J., & Maguire, S, 2013). In order to be diagnosed with mild anorexia one must have a BMI of 17 kg/m^2, moderate must have between 16- 16.99 kg/m^2, severe must have between 15- 15.99 kg/m^2, and extreme being a at the lowest with a BMI of 15 kg/m^2 or less (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). This BMI percentile is only for adults and a new table would be made for those who are adolescents. Many anorexic patients will also use their BMI as a gauge to lose more weight. They believe that they are not thin enough if they don’t have a BMI as low as they would like it to be in correspondence with their goal weight that almost always results in a BMI classified as
A sign of Anorexia can be observed through the actions of the individual such as cutting food into small pieces, counting the number of times an item is chewed, hiding food, chewing food and spitting it out, or refusing to eat around other people. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There is no known cause of Anorexia however, cultural influence as well as a significant lifestyle change or stressful event seem to have the biggest impacts over those who develop the disorder. It should also be noted that Anorexia and other eating disorders can cause the patient to form other disorders such as mood disorders, obsessive- compulsive disorder, and social phobia (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 2018). In order to diagnose someone who has Anorexia Nervosa, the patient must have a body mass index of a certain number or below. Body mass index also allows doctors to determine the severity to which the patient’s disorder has progresses …show more content…
There are four different levels to which a patient can be placed mild, moderate, severe, and extreme (Surgenor, L. J., & Maguire, S, 2013). In order to be diagnosed with mild anorexia one must have a BMI of 17 kg/m^2, moderate must have between 16- 16.99 kg/m^2, severe must have between 15- 15.99 kg/m^2, and extreme being a at the lowest with a BMI of 15 kg/m^2 or less (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). This BMI percentile is only for adults and a new table would be made for those who are adolescents. Many anorexic patients will also use their BMI as a gauge to lose more weight. They believe that they are not thin enough if they don’t have a BMI as low as they would like it to be in correspondence with their goal weight that almost always results in a BMI classified as