Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders: Anorexia

Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating

disorders. The vast majority are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescents

girls develop anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death.

Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by

vomiting or other ' purging ' behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older

women , but much less frequently. The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. For example, one in ten

anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or suicide. Fortunately, increasing awareness of the

dangers of eating disorders, sparked by medicall studies and extensive media coverage, has led many poeple to

seek help. Nevertheless, some people with eating disorders refuse to admit that they have a problem and do not get

Dopamine and serotonin pathways.

Asociación de lucha contra la bulimia y la anorex...

A summary of the strategy Zucker et al. (2007) use...

treatment. Family and friends can help recognize the problem and encourage the person to seek treatment.

Anorexia nervosa is a disorder where people intentionally starve themselves. It usually starts around the time of

puberty and involves extreme weight loss. Sometimes they must be hospitalized to prevent starvation because food

and weight become obsessions. For some, the compulsiveness shows up in strange eating rituals, some even

collect recipes and prepare gourmet feasts for family and friends. Loss of monthly menstrual periods is typical in

women with this disorder and men with this disorder usually become impotent.

People with bulmia nervosa consume large amounts of food and then rid their bodies of the excess calories by

vomiting, abusing laxatives or excersising obsessively. Some use a combination of all these forms of purging.

Many individuals with bulimia ' binge and purge ' in...