H E A L T
H:
Anorexia
Nervosa
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"My focus was food. I mean everything was done for, planned around, food. Not eating it mostly. Weighing myself, things like that. I looked on eating as a reward, and I felt like I didn't deserve it. So I had to do something in order to be worthy of eating something. And it got to a point where I just felt so guilty when I ate anything, I couldn't justify it. I couldn't see eating as something that you had to do, like sleeping." -Teen recovered from Anorexia |
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Vanessa Barr, 14
What Is It?
Anorexia nervosa means "loss of appetite," but a person with anorexia is hungry. He or she just denies it because of an out of control fear of getting fat. So what is it, exactly?
How Common Is It?
Not as common as bulimia. Still anorexia nervosa affects millions of people in the U.S. and other western countries. Kids, teens, and adults. Males and Females. 1 out of every 100 teenage girls has it!
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"Something got deep inside of me to tell me that I'm not worth it. I don't deserve food, love, companionship, I don't know, nice clothes, whatever. Somewhere, somehow, even in every day life, natural, normal needs that one has, I guess I feel like other people are more important and that if I need something, I might be taking away from theirs." -Teen with Anorexia |
What Causes It?
- Family problems. Most experts believe that eating disorders come from different kinds of family problems. Growing up is never easy, but people with eating disorders have a particularly difficult time. Most grow up in families where problems are denied. (Who has problems? Not us!) The parents may be very loving and caring, but they may be having trouble separating from their teens. They may also feel uncomfortable about letting their teens grow up and become more independent. These teens are afraid to disappoint their parents. They are not sure they deserve good things in their lives, like love, praise, even food.
They may have trouble figuring out their own identity.
If teens don't feel like they have any control over their own lives
they may use food and body weight as the only way to get control.
- Our culture. Western society is obsessed with
thinness. Every day TV, movies, and magazines blast us
with the message that thin is "the only way to be." Never
before in history have females been encouraged to be as
thin as they are today in the U.S. and other industrial
countries. It's just not healthy. In fact, it's killing
many of us. How thin is thin enough?
Warning Signs of Anorexia
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"At first, I didn't think I was anorexic. Everyone was telling me, this is what you've got. But I just thought, that's not me. I didn't even think it was a problem. It was my project. I was sticking to a pattern, I was sticking to a schedule." - Teen recovered from Anorexia |
Here are some signals that you or someone you know has anorexia:
- Who's in control? Anorexics don't feel like they have any control in their lives. They are always trying to please others. Starving themselves is a way they feel "in charge" of themselves.
- Extreme and irrational fear of body fat and becoming fat.
- Weighs oneself obsessively. Gaining one pound can make the person very upset.
- Iron determination to become thinner and thinner.
- Significant weight loss (loss of 15% or more of body weight).
- Difficulty recognizing and responding to hunger and other impulses (for example anger).
- Food obsessions. Might be any number of these:
- The person only eats foods of a certain color or texture.
- Needs to cut up food into tiny pieces.
- Doesn't eat in front of other people.
- Always has an excuse not to eat.
- Compulsive exercising. Feels (s)he doesn't "deserve" to eat unless exercises before and after.
- Wears baggy clothes. Sometimes in layers, to hide thinness and stay warm.
- Distorted self-image. Even people who only weigh 75 pounds still think they are "fat."
- Arms and legs become cold. The blood isn't circulating very well.
- Thick downy hair appears on arms and legs. To help conserve body heat.
- Hair loss on head. Hair doesn't look healthy. Finger nails split and crack.
- Abnormal hormonal functioning.
- Girls - absence of 3 or more menstrual cycles
- Boys - lowering of sexual function and desire
Medical Problems
If anorexia is not treated and stopped, it can lead to permanent damage to the body. Even death. Here are some common health problems caused by anorexia:
- Heart problems. Without food, the body loses strength and the heart becomes weak. It may have trouble pumping blood or stop all together.
- Kidney and/or liver damage. Both of these organs are necessary for normal body function.
- Absence of menstrual cycles in women. The body believes there is no food around, so it turns off its ability to make babies.
- Fainting spells. Caused by dizziness and lack of oxygen in the blood circulating to the brain.
- Malnutrition. Hey, if a person isn't eating they aren't getting the vitamins and minerals needed to stay healthy.
- Loss of muscle and bone mass. When a person isn't getting food, the body starts taking what it need from inside. In the case of bone mass, what is lost can't be replaced.
- Sleep disturbances. A body that is out of balance, without proper amounts of food, cannot sleep.
The Bad News: Untreated, eating disorders can kill!
The Good News: By
admitting there is a problem and getting help,
people with eating disorders can be cured.
For more information contact
ANAD
(National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders)
E A T I N G
D I S O R D E R S