Facts on Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa is a disorder in which preoccupation with dieting and thinness leads to excessive weight loss. The individual may not acknowledge that weight loss or restricted eating is a problem. One percent of teenage girls in the U.S.
develop anorexia nervosa and up to 10 percent may die as a result.
Anorexia Danger Signals:
Physical complications:
- losing a significant amount of weight
- continuing to diet (although thin)
- feeling fat, even after losing weight
- fearing weight gain
- losing monthly menstrual periods
- preoccupation with food, calories, nutrition and/or cooking
- exercising compulsively
- bingeing and purging
- hair loss
- gaunt, hollow facial features
- shrunken breasts
- dry skin
- bruises
- sharply protruding bones
- cold and blue hands and feet
- delayed puberty: pre-adolescent females fail to menstruate and develop breasts at normal age; in males, testosterone levels might remain low, leading to impotence
- menstruation: hormone levels drop, alerting the body that it cannot support a fetus; menstruation becomes irregular or stops completely – can result in temporary or permanent infertility
- permanent bone loss: susceptibility to stress fractures and osteoporosis
- mood changes: impatience, irritability, depression, suicidal tendencies
- insomnia, constipation, sensitivity to cold, kidney failure, abnormally low heart rate and blood pressure
Just thought i would give you some facts