...Head: ANOREXIA NERVOSA Introduction Anorexia nervosa is a psychological illness whereby the victims are afraid of their weight gain, causing them to rapid to extreme weight loss. Victims with anorexia prohibit or limit themselves from taking food, as well as their behaviors in life spheres beyond food and eating. Some anorexia victims will slowly grow anxiety or hatred towards food in a period of time. Some anorexia victims will not reject the intake of food but they would dig their throat so that they would vomit the food out in order to keep their body in their ideal shape. There are a lot of factors that contributes towards anorexia nervosa. In physical aspect, they are too sensitive about their weight so they limit their intake of food daily. On behavioral aspect, they cannot accept the fact that people are thinner than them so they rely on diet pills to control their weight, do excessive exercise or diuretic abuse. According to medicinenet.com, approximately 95% of those affected by anorexia are female, during their adolescent stage. Male do develop anorexia nervosa at some point of their lives but it is significantly lower percentage compare to females. There are two types of anorexia nervosa. Restrictive types, whereby they limit the food intake, have intense weight control. Purging type is depending on medications such as laxatives to make sure that the weight is the ideal ones. There are a lot of differences if an individual is trying to diet and anorexia. For instances...
Words: 2890 - Pages: 12
...Anorexia Nervosa Name Institution Professor Course Date Anorexia Nervosa One of the most common eating disorders in the world is anorexia nervosa. A patient who suffers from anorexia nervosa loses at least fifteen percent of the normal minimum weight. Anorexia nervosa incidences are increasing these days with many cases recorded for the past few decades. In every 100,000 persons, there are between eight to thirteen cases of people suffering from anorexia disorders. For instance, statistics show that nearly seven thousand people in Hong Kong suffer from anorexia nervosa. Moreover, anorexia nervosa is more prevalent among girls under adolescent between the ages of 15 to 20 years of age who are a high risk. Moreover, more than 95% of people suffering from anorexia nervosa are females. Anorexia nervosa, and according to research it normally starts affecting adolescent girls from the age young age of around 13 years all through their entire life up to around 20 years of age. As a result, this essay will target the cases of the adolescent girls between 15 to 20 years of age as they have higher risk or have the problem already. Individuals experiencing eating disorder at times find it difficult to differentiate between what is either normal or abnormal. Anorexia nervosa has many behaviors and thoughts among them body image distortion, inability of maintaining healthy body weights, eating habits that are scarce and fear of eating...
Words: 1568 - Pages: 7
...Anorexia Nervosa Linda Price Axia College of University of Phoenix HCA/240 Joanna Puia July 20, 2011 Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that can be physical, behavioral or psychological usually ending in death if not treated properly by a physician. Anorexia nervosa can take over every organ in the body. An individual (male or female) has a fear of being overweight, even if they are underweight. It is hard to realize when he or she is suffering from anorexia nervosa if you do not know the signs or symptoms of this eating disorder. It can take over an individual’s life unless they find a confidant to talk about what is going on with their eating problems. An individual (male or female) suffering from anorexia nervosa may lose weight from restricting the amount of food they intake or exercise excessively. Some even begin purging which is similar to bulimia or start taking laxatives. People with anorexia nervosa start cutting food into small pieces or moving them around the plate instead of eating (Anorexia Nervosa, 2011). They start eating alone or making meals for others instead of themselves. An individual (male or female) may have low body mass index (BMI), emaciation, abdominal pain, dehydration, dry skin or hair, muscle weakness, and dental erosion (Anorexia Nervosa, 2011). He or she becomes socially withdrawal, depressed, irritability, insomnia, impaired concentration, and suicide attempts. Anorexia nervosa is especially common...
Words: 927 - Pages: 4
...Research Paper: Deep Brain Stimulation in Chronic and Severe Anorexia Nervosa Search Engine: Google; Psychiatric Times Nursing_028 Adult & Adolescent Mental Health Adaption Anorexia Nervosa is a disorder in which eating, food, and weight control become obsessions. People who live with this disorder tend to weight themselves repeatedly, portion control, and eats only small portion of specific foods. Thoughts about dieting, foods, and body may take up most of your day leaving little to no time to enjoy other aspects of life. Anorexia affects both men and women of all ages. It can damage your health and created possible threats to life. Those who suffer with anorexia nervosa tend to loose their sense of self because no matter how skinny her or she becomes it is never enough. Although, those who suffer from this disorder deny it most of the time recovery is possible through various treatment methods. In Doctor Blake Woodside article “ Deep Brain Stimulation in Chronic and Severe Anorexia Nervosa” he mentions that current treatments show few significant improvements in patients who have chronic forms of Anorexia Nervosa. Deep brain simulations was originally used to reduce tremors and block involuntary movement in patients with motion disorders. Recently, it has been under investigation to use this treatment for psychiatric disorders. Deep brain stimulation treatment occurs when a patient undergoes the placement of surgically implanted electrodes into specific areas...
Words: 645 - Pages: 3
...Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by excessive food restriction and fear, fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body self-perception. Anorexia is one of results caused by social and media pressure. That’s because everyone today wants to look like models or trying to appear more attractively. First, Anorexia is the worse way to lose weight. It’s harmful to the body and can cause psychological and gynecological problems. Anorexia affects mostly females between their teens or young adult women age period, it is harming our society greatly. For w person suffering from Anorexia , social problems form like isolation and depression, too. Also, anorexia is a socially transmitted disorder, environmental factors, such as acceptance in certain athletic and social groups, which can contribute to the effects of an eating disorder. Studies provide information about the environmental issues that influence Anorexia. Some studies say that three-thousand participants from across Europe provide evidence that peer pressure is a major source of an eating disorder. The idea that public opinion and peer pressure causes Anorexia Nervosa has been considered as a possible cause for a while. A lot of people say that low body weight is equated with beauty and success. While overweight or obese individuals, are equated with ugliness, a lack of success, and an implied lack of self control. The conflict between actual and desired body appearance is thought to trigger Anorexia in...
Words: 635 - Pages: 3
...Anorexia is an eating disorder of abnormal weight loss dropping below 85% of what was previously considered normal. This is characterised by low blood pressure, amenorrhoea and depression, as well as other bodily changes. Anorexia is caused by strict controls on weight and unusual eating habits which can be explained through both psychological and biological explanations. The psychological explanation of anorexia is explained through cultural ideas in the media which portrays thin models on TV and magazines. This is a significant contributory factor in body image concerns and the drive for thinness among Western adolescent girls. Research by Jones and Buckingham found that people with low self-esteem are more likely to compare themselves to idealised imagines portrayed in the media. There is a wealth of evidence to support the view that the mass media portrays slender as a beauty ideal which people strive to follow. For instance, Goresz et al (2001) reviewed 25 studies and showed that this ideal causes bodily dissatisfaction and contributes to the development of eating disorders, particularly affecting girls aged 19 and below. Furthermore, there also comes support from a natural observation carried out by Becker et al (2002) in a study of Fijian adolescents. It was found that after the introduction of television to an island, these girls stated a desire to lose weight and be like the Western women on the television. This study can be praised for being extremely high...
Words: 266 - Pages: 2
...Anorexia nervosa is described by extreme thinness, relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a healthy weight, extreme fear of gaining weight, distorted body image, severe low self-image that is skewed by their view of their own body weight and shape, lack of menstruation and extreme restrictions of eating (National Institute of Mental Health). According to the text “usually adolescents and three out of four times females – drop sufficiently (typically 15 percent or more) below normal weight” (Myers, 2010, p. 453). Bulimia however is different in that the person usually carries a normal or even healthy weight. “Bulimia nervosa is characterized by recurrent and frequent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food and feeling a lack of control over these episodes” (National Institute of Mental Health). The Bulimic will binge eat and then compensate by forcing themselves to vomit, they will often use laxatives and diuretics, they will fast, exercise excessively or a combination thereof. In today’s society of stick thin models, underweight actors / actresses and emerging focus on obesity, it is no wonder that more and more people have eating disorders. Hollywood focuses on being thin because the camera adds at least ten pounds. Models, believe they must be stick thin in order walk the runway for the top designers. Television plays an important role in this overall attitude of being thin, perfect example is the Victoria’s Secret versus Lane Bryant...
Words: 364 - Pages: 2
...Bordo’s main points in “Anorexia Nervosa” center around the three axes of continuity. The three axes are “the dualist axis, the control axis and the gender/power axis”(4). These axes are ways in which Bordo examines the cultural understandings of anorexia. The first axis, the dualist axis, focuses on the history western cultures have had with believing in two realms of human existence. These two realms are the bodily and physical on one side and the mental and spiritual on the other side. This connects to anorexia because a person with anorexia sees their body as alien, as a limitation, and as their enemy. Bordo connects this back to Plato, Descartes, and Augustine, who all also saw their bodies in this light. These famous philosophers were...
Words: 730 - Pages: 3
...Eating disorders has in the recent times become a threatening mental health illness in the society and as such attract a public discussion in most forum. The epidemic has mostly cut across a demographic populations of young people between age 15 to 25 as supported by Walsh (2007a) surprisingly, women are the most affected in this group. There are three classifications of this eating abnormality; known as - Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia nervosa and Binge eating disorders. However, I will base this essay on one of these classifications known as Anorexia Nervosa eating disorder which is defined as a physiological illness whereby people starve themselves and refused to eat - Ambrose and Deisler (2011). Another author defines anorexia nervosa as refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and fear of gaining weight Shepphired (2010). For the purpose of this essay, I will discuss much more on this type of eating disorder popularly known as Anorexia nervosa by DSM-V(2013). I am going to divide this essay into three parts. I will look at the signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa. I will identify the possible impact of the illness in the life of a patient and her immediate environments (the families and Friends of the individual) and the treatment or nursing intervention. I will also relate this experience to one of my patient at my placement. In accordance with the Data Protection Act (2000) and Nursing and Midwifery code of conduct (2010), I have adopted the name Lola (not the...
Words: 2585 - Pages: 11
...Psych Disorder Paper February 10, 2015 Anorexia Nervosa What is Anorexia Nervosa? Anorexia Nervosa is an Eating Disorder where the sufferer has a fear of any weight gain. Anorexia in extreme cases can be deadly due to the sufferer losing too much weight and not getting the right Vitamins and Nutrients. Anorexia if left untreated can most certainly result in death or irreversible health issues such as osteoporosis. This potentially deadly eating disorder is characterized by self starvation and excessive weight loss. Individuals are diagnosed when they are at least 15% or lower their normal healthy body weight (Goldberg 2014). The term Anorexia literally means "loss of appetite". This definition is very misleading. It's not that Anorexics lose their appetite it's that they may be hungry but refuse food. Persons with Anorexia may eat in secret or have strict rituals that pertain to eating and or food preparation. Individuals often times perceive themselves as fat even when they are extremely underweight. They have intense fears of becoming fat even if they are quite skinny. The sufferers see themselves as fat and see this as a "flaw" they try to correct it by cutting way down on their food intake and excessively exercising sometimes even in secret (WebMD). Anorexia is recognizable by the plain view of bones underneath the skin almost as if the bones are trying to break out of the individuals skin. Other common symptoms of Anorexia include; social withdrawal, rapid weight loss...
Words: 1428 - Pages: 6
...Abstract Could you imagine being so afraid of food and the possibility of gaining weight that you would actually starve yourself? Food and eating are pleasures of everyday life we take for granted. Having the life of an Anorexic person fills you with the constant fear of one thing “becoming fat”. Many teen girls suffer with anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder in which girls use starvation diets to try to lose weight. They starve themselves down to skeletal thinness yet still think that they are overweight. Bulimia, meanwhile, is a disorder in which young women binge on food and then force themselves to vomit. They also often use laxatives to get food out of their system. All of these young women who suffer from this problem are considered to suffer from a psychiatric disorder. While the causes are debatable, one thing that is clear is that these young women have a distorted body image. (Wolf, 1991, p. 214-216) Eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa are slowly gripping a part of the female adolescent to young adult population. Although, Anorexia Nervosa has only been public since the 1970’s, records of the disorder go back as far as 1689. Thomas Morton, an English physician, studied subjects with a disorder he called the “wasting” disease. He had two cases, which were very similar. One was an eight-teen yr. old girl and the other was a six-teen yr. old boy. Both subjects had similar symptoms. They both had a strong lack of appetite, sensitivity to coldness, and extreme...
Words: 2675 - Pages: 11
...Anorexia nervosa is more commonly known as simply anorexia. People with this disorder start out with dieting then move to over dieting, excessive exercise, diet pills for appetite suppression, diuretics, laxatives, and/or enemas. Anorexia is a psychological disorder that reaches beyond weight issues. This condition is more about having a sense of control over their body. It becomes an obsession to them. This condition affects mostly women, although men can also develop this disorder. Caucasians are more affected than people of other racial backgrounds. Some early symptoms of anorexia are low self-esteem, feelings of lack of control, and distorted body image. Some middle symptoms would be decreased scalp hair, increased facial and body hair, fatigue, eating alone, compulsive behavior, and anxiety. Some crucial symptoms of anorexia would be an emaciated appearance, feeling of control over body, fear of food, malnutrition, mood swings, joint pain, and denial of a problem. Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder that is characterized by binge eating and purging a large amount of food in a short period of time. This is done by vomiting, laxative, diuretics, and/or excessive. Bulimia is considered to be less life threatening than anorexia, but the occurrence of bulimia is higher. This disorder is nine times more likely to occur in women than men. The onset of bulimia is often during adolescence. The majority of the people with this disorder are at a normal weight. They...
Words: 461 - Pages: 2
...Anorexia Nervosa “Four out of ten individuals have either personally experienced an eating disorder or know someone who has.”(ANAD) One of the most common eating disorders is anorexia nervosa, or most simply known as anorexia. Anorexia and bulimia often get confused with one another. Anorexia involves starvation, while bulimia involves purging. Anorexia is an eating disorder defined by an abnormally low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of body weight. Anorexia is not about food. It is more of a way to deal with emotional issues. Thinness is often correlated with self-worth. Those who have anorexia are usually athletes, models, or other figures where body image is huge. “Eating disorders are a daily struggle for 10 million females and 1 million males in the United States.”(ANAD) Women are much more likely than men to develop eating disorders. Women are also more likely to develop anorexia than men. Anorexia has a mortality rate of 4%. When developing an eating disorder there are risk factors. I have named one already, being female. But genetics and family history also play a role in developing anorexia. Having certain genes or having a direct relative with anorexia can make people more susceptible in becoming anorexic. Being young is one of the main risk factors as well. Just like with every other disease there are symptoms, both physical and emotional. Some physical symptoms are the obvious extreme weight loss and thin appearance, dizziness...
Words: 773 - Pages: 4
...hour softball practice. At my younger sister's volleyball game about a month or two ago, I saw this girl. She was so thin it was almost disgusting. Her skin was pale, her hair was thin, and I could see her ribs through her shirt. She went from looking healthy and physically fit to looking sick and fragile. This is why I chose this topic. People need to pay more attention to this disease. Anorexics are literally dying to be thin. Most of you probably already know what anorexia is, however in case you don't anorexia is basically a disease involving self-starvation. Anorexia victims have a very low "ideal" weight. It might begin as a normal diet carried to extremes, reducing their food intake to a bare minimum. Rules are made of how much food they can eat in one day and how much exercise is required after eating certain amounts of food. With anorexia, there is a strong almost overwhelming fear of putting on weight and they are preoccupied with the way that their bodies look. Anorexia sometimes involves use of laxatives, diet pills, or self-induced vomiting to lose or to keep weight off (http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/anorexianervosa.htm)....
Words: 1366 - Pages: 6
...Dr. Stephany Lewis Anorexia Nervosa Intervention Introduction This paper analyzes the serious disorder of anorexia nervosa which is among the highest of any disorders and has about 10 times the death rate for young women without anorexia. Anorexia Nervosa has been categorized as a serious disorder that occurs in approximately 1 in 200 women in developed countries such as North America and Europe. It usually starts in adolescence and as previously stated, mostly affects women. Those suffering from this eating disorder, have very low body weight and a distorted body image. Their dangerously low body weight leads to serious consequences creating other body ailments which in turn create the need for long term treatment. Factors of Anorexia Nervosa There are different factors that contribute in a person having an eating disorder. The factors vary from biological, psychological and social. A psychological factor that is very common is a lack of control which causes the sufferer to feel over analytical of their weight which gives them a sense of control. Another factor is having low self-esteem. Low self-esteem can have many contributors such as a person feeling out of control, lonely, angry and anxiety. Biological factors involved with anorexia nervosa which can and will severely affect the general health and are far more diverse and serious than the person involved might be aware of. When a person has bulimia and suffers from anorexia nervosa the medical consequences...
Words: 1219 - Pages: 5
