Known as well under the definition of Anorexia Nervosa, this disease tends to be a very often encountered problem of young people especially teenage girls.
Anorexia deals with a psychologically controlled fear of weight gain leading always to one fast loss of weight sometimes even to a pathological weight judged by the
age targeted rate. Patients suffering from Anorexia impose for themselves certain rigorous limits concerning daily amounts of food for every meal, a matter leading
towards a badly influence on the physical state as well as on the social relationships related to the eating habits. For a better understanding of the issue we refer to
people starting to neglect their social and emotional duties in order to keep their eating schedule unchanged. Some anorexic people schedule their meals at the
exact same hour every day and in the exact order and amount, sometimes even wearing the same outfits each day.
Characterized especially by denying
food, Anorexia may be influenced by several factors and is sometimes an attempt to solve problems of different nature such as emotional ones although in its true
sense Anorexia deals with denying food or not being able to accept it.
There are certain signs and symptoms which can guide our diagnosis towards a
disease of the digestive system:
1. Clinical signs of anorexia might be rapid loss of weight, amenorrhea, being unable to endure cold, syncope.
2.
Psychological clues can include nervousness, sadness, despair, low self esteem and a pathological fear of gaining weight.
3. The behavioral side represents
hiding to eat, diet tea or pills abuse, bad relations with friends and colleagues, excessive use of laxatives and strict diets.
The risk of gaining this disease is
higher under the age of twenty and especially at young girls. Today there are 11 million known cases in the USA and 87%represent women below twenty; though the
number of cases in the male population increases dramatically in the last ten years.
Although Anorexia is also known as the disease of rich girls, it has been
proven that it appears equally at all cultural groups, races and populations. Caucasians as well as African American, and Indians are affected.
It is also a
proven fact that children under the age of 7 can develop Anorexia showing sighs such as refusing food, tendency to vegetarianism, obsessive
behavior.
Studies have revealed, there are people with a certain susceptibility to the disease gained by genetic pattern; connected to some environmental
factors and a sort of typical temperament it can cause Anorexia. Anorexia as well as Bulimia represents a joint between inherited addictions and environmental
factors, together showing towards a digestive disorder.
Anorexia can easily be influenced by the media as well as by the atmosphere in the family.
Communication and other patterns to help solving different kind of problems, a good relationship with the parents, can encourage the child or adolescent to find other
ways for solving different issues.
As a conclusion it is notable that our eating habits are mostly important for our future as they can decide whether we
develop obesity, digestive problems or even Anorexia.
