BIOL 2401
December 1, 2015
Anorexia Nervosa Eating disorders have become very common not only in the United States but worldwide. Eating disorders have affected 30 million Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide stated ("Eating Disorders Statistics"). There are three major eating disorders Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge eating which include emotions, attitudes, weight issues etc. but the most common of these three is Anorexia Nervosa ("Types & Symptoms of Eating Disorders | National Eating Disorders Association”). Anorexia Nervosa is a complex eating disorder which includes refusal to maintain a healthy body weight, fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image (Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal, "Anorexia …show more content…
But when these thoughts start to effect eating habits it has become an eating disorder. Anorexia Nervosa is “a psychiatric disorder characterized by abnormal eating behavior, severe self-induced weight loss, and psychiatric comorbidities. Anorexia is a mental disorder, it’s a pathological condition with behavioral patterns which affects the bones, muscles and organs. Which cause osteoporosis and being fragile, because of the weakening and thining of the bones also muscles all over the body become weak and develop muscle waste conditions ("Anorexia …show more content…
They will do almost anything to avoid gaining weight, including starving themselves or exercising too much” (Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal, "Anorexia Nervosa"). In Anorexia Nervosa there is two types of anorexia the restricting type of anorexia weight loss is achieved by watching the calories consumed by following diets, fasting and doing exercise. However, in the purging type weight loss is achieved inducing vomiting using laxatives and diuretics (Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal, "Anorexia Nervosa") . The cause of Anorexia Nervosa nobody knows for sure however there are certain factors that work together that could lead to it. These include trauma or emotional stress such as the loss of a loved one, a brain chemical called Serotonin which is a chemical involved in depression, family history of eating disorder, one fifth in people with anorexia have a relative with an eating disorder (Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal, "Anorexia Nervosa"). There is some risk factors like for example age and gender. It is more common in teens and young adult women, experiencing a big life change. Many anorexics don’t admit they have anorexia and tend to hide their habits too