Anorexia nervosa
From Conservapedia
Anorexia nervosa is a syndrome marked by severe crash dieting and fasting, often motivated by a belief that one is "too fat" despite being well below average weight.
It is a disorder in which the individual has a body image distortion and an intense fear of becoming overweight and therefore eats far too little to sustain normal body functions. It usually manifests itself in an extremely unhealthy body image. If left untreated, it can lead to serious physiology injury or death. Anorexia is frequently stimulated by the wide publicity given to fashion industry values.
- Anorexia is more than just a problem with food. It is a way of using food or starving oneself to feel more in control of life and to ease tension, anger, and anxiety. Most people with anorexia are female.[1]
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Epidemiology of Anorexia
About 90% of those diagnosed with anorexia nervosa are female. Research indicates that its incidence is between 8 and 13 cases per 100,000 annually.[2][3]The disorder most commonly occurs in adolescence.[4]
Factors Credited As Contributory
Many factors of society are at times credited with causing the number of eating disorders to increase. For example, the media perception of larger-than-average bodies as 'too fat', or something that must be changed via dieting, can contribute to many having an unhealthy body image. Also, some have cited society's pressure on women to be thin and desirable, and on men to be large and muscular, as something that can enhance eating disorders.
Research has also suggested that biological factors contribute to the occurrence of anorexia. For example, eating disorders in general have a heritability index of about 0.50[5] Anorexia appears to be linked to dysfunction in brain serotonin symptoms.[6]
Variations
Anorexia nervosa in males has been referred to in the popular media as "manorexia", although this is not a recognized medical term.[7] This disorder is commonly seen in depressed and/or homosexual men, where they take on the wasted appearance of starving children in third world countries.
Another variation of AN is the so-called "wannarexia". It affects generally a young female under 13 years of age who believes anorexia nervosa is a lifestyle choice rather than a mental illness.[8] Often she makes an active decision to "start ana" in order to drop a few pounds. She may engage in anorexic behaviors such as self-starvation, but the root of her dieting is not the same as one who genuinely suffers from an eating disorder.
Notes
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Bulik CM, Reba L, Siega-Riz AM, Reichburn-Kjennerud T (2005). Anorexia nervosa: Definition, epidemiology and cycle of risk. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 37 Suppl, S2-S9.
- ↑ Hoek HW (2006). Incidence, prevalence and mortality of anorexia and other eating disorders. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 19, 389-394.
- ↑ Lask B & Bryant-Waugh R (2000). Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence. Hove: Psychology Press.
- ↑ Klump KL, Kaye WH, & Strober M (2001). The evolving genetic foundations of eating disorders. Psychiatry Clinics of North America, 24, 212-225.
- ↑ Kaye WH, Frank GK, Bailer UF, Henry SE, Meltzer CC, et al. (2005). Serotonin alterations in anorexia and bulimia nervosa: New insights from imaging studies. Physiology & Behavior, 85, 73-81.
- ↑ Definition of Manorexia
- ↑ Wannarexia: When Death Becomes Trendy
Sources
Abnormal Psychology, Rosenhan & Seligman, 1984
