Health Care: Anorexia Nervosa, Depression and Low Self-Esteem

In medicine, a condition characterized by intense of fear of gaining weight or becoming obese and a distorted body image, leading to an excessive weight loss from restricting food intake and excessive exercise. Anorexia nervosa is not associated with any pre-existing physical illness. It is found chiefly in adolescents, especially young women.

Between 5 and 18 percent of anorexia nervosa victims die of starvation and the condition may also lead to abnormalities in the menstrual cycle and increased susceptibility to infection. Persons with the condition may also exhibit the practice, known as bulimia, of ingesting large quantities of food and then voiding it through self-induced vomiting in order to remain thin. Well, if I were you, I would not try to do this to get my body thin. My suggestion is you need to follow your diet advisor programs, it is much better. Back to the topic, repeated vomiting depletes the body of fluids and of the element potassium and the disturbance can adversely affect heart function.

No generally recognized therapy for anorexia nervosa exists. It is often associated with depression and low self-esteem, and patients may benefit from treatment with antidepressant drugs. Psychotherapy, including family therapy, often helps, and about half of the cases resolve themselves without relapses. The behavioral problem may lead to actual chemical disorders in the body, however, that aggravate the condition.

Because many persons with anorexia nervosa never seek medical treatment, the exact prevalence of condition is unknown. Studies indicate that it may develop in as many as 1 percent of the young women in the U.S.

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