Anorexia: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment.

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Hi,

Let's take a closer look a each section, which you can then bring together for your final copy. I also attached two excellent resources, one is questions and answers about anorexia and the second one deals with the causes and risk factors associated with anorexia.

RESPONSE:

1. Write a 750- to 1,050-word paper briefly describing anorexia detailing the current trends, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment for the disorder.

Anorexia Nervosa

1. Current Trends

According to the DSM-IV-TR, anorexia nervosa (e.g. anorexia for short) is one of the eating disorders. People who intentionally starve themselves suffer from anorexia. Individuals with this eating disorder keep their body weight below a minimal normal level by exercise, control of food intake, and other means. (1) The American Psychiatric Association defines anorexia as:

· Refusal to maintain a body weight that is at or above the minimal normal weight for age and height
· Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though the person is underweight
· Denying the seriousness of having a low body weight, or having a distorted image of one's appearance or shape (5)

While anorexia is commonly seen as a disorder of white, affluent teenage girls and young women, and in fact up to 90 percent of anorexics are female, with the onset of symptoms typically occurring between ages 11 and 20, male anorexics do exist. Anorexia has been diagnosed in children as young as 7 and in middle-aged and even elderly women. It affects people of all races, ethnic groups, and social classes. (5)

Although it was once thought that women of color were shielded from eating disorders by their cultures, which tend to be more accepting of different body sizes, this trend has unfortunately changed. Research now shows that as African American, Latina, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian and Alaska Native women are more exposed to images of thin women, they also become more likely to develop eating disorders. (2) The disorder, which usually begins in young people around the time of puberty, involves extreme weight loss--at least 15 percent below the individual's normal body weight. Many people with the disorder look emaciated but are convinced they are overweight. Sometimes they must be hospitalized to prevent starvation. (3)

2. Signs and Symptoms

A person with anorexia has an intense fear of gaining weight. Someone with anorexia thinks about food a lot and limits the food she or he eats, even though she or he is too thin. Anorexia is more than just a problem with food. It's a way of using food or starving oneself to feel more in control of life and to ease tension, anger, and anxiety. (2) People who have anorexia try to hide their ...