Anorexia Nervosa
Everybody eats. However, according to the
human behavior, there are huge
differences between people. Some eat more,
some eat less, some put on weight
easily, and other does not. And some people
go to such extremes that they harm
themselves, by eating too much or too
little. As a result they may harm their
health and come to the attention of
doctors. This research deals with anorexia
nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is an
eating disorder that usually strikes women. Of
the seven million women aged
15 to 35 who have an eating disorder, many will die
from the complications of
anorexia. Anorexia may not be noticed in the early
stages because it often
starts as an innocent diet. They often become
hyperactive because they
exercise frantically in an attempt to burn calories to
lose weight. There are
many reasons as to why women develop anorexia nervosa.
One is that it is
dieting taken to a dangerous extreme. Another is that societal
pressures
dictate a woman be thin in order to be beautiful - the "waif
look" was
recently popular. But what these theories come down to is an
issue of
control. Whatever else is going on in the anorexic's life, the one
thing that
she feels she can control is food. Anorexia begins with the everyday
dieting
that is so much a part of teenager life. About a third of anorexia
sufferers
have been overweight before starting to diet. Unlike normal dieting,
which
stops when the desired weight is reached, in anorexia the dieting and
the
loss of weight continue until the sufferer is well below the normal limit
for
her age and height. The tiny amount of calories that she is taking in may
be
disguised by the quantities of fruit, vegetables and salads that she eats.
Also,
she will often exercise vigorously or take slimming pills to keep her
weight
low. Moreover, in spite of her own attitude to eating, she may take an
avid
interest in buying food and cooking for others. There are many
diagnostic
criteria on anorexia nervosa if people have this kind of sickness.
First of all,
they are refusal to maintain body weight at or above a
minimally normal weight
for age and height. For example, weight loss leading
to maintenance of body
weight less than 85% of that expected; or failure to
make expected weight gain
during period of growth, leading to body weight
less than 85% of that expected.
Besides, they have intense fear of
gaining weight or becoming fat, even though
underweight. Disturbance in the
way in which one's body weight or shape is
experienced, undue influence of
body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or
denial of the seriousness of the
current low body weight. For most sufferers it
will be important to discuss
things that may be upsetting them. For examples
boys, school,
self-consciousness, family problems, etc. Although technically the
word
anorexia means 'loss of appetite', sufferers with anorexia actually have
a
normal appetite, but drastically control their eating. According to the
research
paper, anorexia nervosa is not biological and hereditary. The most
important
reasons are people's psychological thinking. In societies, which do
not value
thinness, eating disorders are very rare. In surroundings such as
ballet
schools, where people value thinness extremely highly, they are very
common.
Generally in Western cultures 'thin is beautiful'. Television,
newspapers and
magazines are full of pictures of slim, attractive young men
and women. They
push miracle diets and exercise plans to enable us to mould
our bodies to the
pattern of these artificial, idealized figures, to conform
to the shape the
media tell us we should be. As a result, almost everybody
diets at some time or
other. It is easy to see how this social pressure might
cause some young women
to diet excessively and eventually to develop
anorexia. There are at least
8,000,000 or more anorexia nervosa victims
in the world nowadays. It is
estimated that six percent of serious die. There
are ninety percent are women.
Male cases are being reported with
increasing frequency. Therefore, eating
disorders can lead to death or
life-long problems in the self-starver and even
in those of normal weight
whom compulsively binge and purge, but it can be
cured. If someone has become
excessively thin and her periods have stopped, it
makes sense for her to try
to get back to somewhere near an acceptable weight.
To help with this,
medicine cannot help to solve this sickness. The most
important thing is that
the sufferers themselves. They have to learn the
consequences of not eating.
Then, they will make the right decision consciously.
First of all, both
she and her family will first need information. What is a'normal' weight for
her? How many calories are needed each day to get there? For
many suffers,
the most important question is, "How can I make sure that I
don't shoot past
that weight and become fat?" In anorexia, the patient has
excessive control
of her eating. How can she ease up? For youngsters still
living at home, it
is the parents' job to watch over the food that is eaten, at
least for a
while. This involves both making sure that she has regular meals
with the
rest of the family, and that she gets enough calories. Mounds of
lettuce can
be very deceptive. It is also important that the family see the
psychiatrist
regularly both to check on weight and for support, as having an
anorexic in
the family can be extremely stressful. Besides this, parents should
encourage
their anorexic children to join a self-help group in which other
people share
similar problems. These groups can provide both information and
support
during the difficult times that everybody with these problems goes
through.
It is obvious that it cure the anorexia easily if the suffers didn't
hurt too
much.
Bibliography
Insel, P. M., Roth, W. T. (1996). Core Concepts
in Health. Toronto: Mayfield.
Gill, K. B. (1995). Who suffers from
anorexia nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa and
Bulimia, 275-276. Zerbe, J. Y.
(1997). Eating Disorders. Harvard College
Research Groups.
http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/1997/h97-eat1.html