ANOREXIA NERVOSA

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Definition

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves limiting the amount of food a person eats. It results in starvation and an inability to stay at the minimum body weight considered healthy for the person's age and height.

Persons with this disorder may have an intense fear of weight gain, even when they are underweight. Not eating enough food or exercising too much results in severe weight loss.

See also:

• Bulimia
• Intentional weight loss

Alternative Names

Eating disorder - anorexia

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

The exact causes of anorexia nervosa are unknown. Many factors probably are involved. Genetics and social attitudes toward body appearance may play a role. Some experts have suggested that conflicts within a family may contribute to this eating disorder.

Anorexia is more common in people who have relatives with the disorder.

Risk factors include:

• Accepting society's attitudes about thinness
• Being a perfectionist
• Being female
• Experiencing childhood anxiety
• Feeling increased concern or attention to weight and shape
• Having eating and gastrointestinal problems during early childhood
• Having a family history of addictions or eating disorders
• Having parents who are concerned about weight and weight loss
• Having a negative self-image

Anorexia nervosa usually occurs in adolescence or young adulthood. It is more common in females. The eating disorder is seen mainly in Caucasian women who are high academic achievers and who have a goal-oriented family or personality.

Symptoms

People with anorexia may severely limit the amount of food they eat, or eat and then make themselves throw up. They may also use water pills (diuretics) and laxatives to lose weight.

Most individuals with anorexia nervosa do not recognize that they have an eating disorder.

Behaviors that may be noticed in a person with anorexia include:

• Cutting food into small pieces
• Exercising compulsively
• Going to the bathroom right after meals
• Quickly eating large amounts of food
• Restricting the amount of food eaten
• Using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics inappropriately in an effort to lose weight

Symptoms may include:

• Blotchy or yellow skin
• Confused or slow thinking
• Dental cavities due to self-induced vomiting
• Depression
• Dry mouth
• Extreme sensitivity to cold (wearing several layers of clothing to stay warm)
• Fine hair
• Low blood pressure
• No menstruation
• Poor memory or poor judgement
• Significant weight loss (15% or greater below normal weight)
• Wasting away of muscle and loss of body fat

Reviewer Info: Paul Ballas, DO, Department of Psychiatry, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., 01/20/2009