Anorexia is a psychological condition or an eating disorder in which sufferers control their caloric intakes, limit or skip meals and display a fixation with weight. Sufferers may even take exercise to the extreme. Knowing how to identify the physical symptoms of anorexia is not enough. Everyone should be aware of the reasons that lead to anorexia.The main indicator of anorexia is losing a lot of weight purposely. for example, by:
- eating as little as possible
- making yourself vomit
- doing too much exercise
People with anorexia will always want to keep their weight as low as possible – less than the normal for their height and age. they are so scared of gaining weight that they can’t eat normally.
After they have finished eating, they may try to throw off the food from their body by making themselves sick often.
Signs of regular vomiting could include:
- Leaving the table instantly after meals
- Dental problems such as bad breath, or tooth decay caused by the acid in vomit damaging their mouth and teeth.
- Hard skin on their knuckles, because of putting their fingers down their throat
The need to compulsively burn calories generally drives people with anorexia to ‘high-impact’ activities, such as dancing, running, or aerobics. some people will use any existing opportunity to burn calories, such as rather than sitting they will prefer to stand.
They may try to make food pass through their body as fast as possible. for example, by taking:
- Laxatives (medication that helps to clear the bowel) or
- Diuretics (medication that helps get rid of fluid from the body)
In reality, laxatives and diuretics have little effect on the calories absorbed from food.
Eating and food:
Although anorexia means ‘loss of hunger’, people with anorexia nervosa do not usually lose their hunger; they like food and feel hungry; however, they do not think about having food in the same way as other people think. for example, they may:
- Tell lies about eating or what they have eaten
- Give excuses about why they are not eating
- Pretend they have eaten earlier
- Tell lies about how much weight they have lost
- Find it difficult to think about anything other than food
- Spend lots of time reading cookery books and recipes
Someone with anorexia nervosa rigorously controls what they eat. for example, by:
- Strict dieting
- Counting the calories in food excessively
- Avoiding food they think is fattening
- Eating only low-calorie food
- Missing meals (fasting)
- Avoid eating with other people
- Hiding food
- Cutting food into small pieces – to make it less noticeable and to make their food swallow easily.
- Taking appetite suppressants, such as slimming pills or diet pills
They may also drink lot of fluids that contain low-calorie fizzy drinks, caffeine, such as coffee, tea so that these can provide a low-calorie, short-term rupture of energy.
Some people with anorexia also begin to use illegal drinks, drugs known to cause weight loss, such as amphetamines or cocaine.
Self-esteem, body image and feelings:
People with anorexia frequently believe that their value as a person is related to their weight. they think that others like them if they are thinner, considering their weight loss in a positive way.
They frequently have an unclear view of what they look like (their body image). for example, they think they look fat when they are not. they may try to hide how thin they are by trying loose clothes.
Many people will also practice a type of behavior known as ‘body-checking’, which involves persistently and repeatedly:
- weighing themselves
- measuring themselves, such as their waist size
- checking their body in the mirror
Anorexic people generally have low self-esteem. they may leave from relationships and become isolated from friends and family.
Anorexia can also influence how well they perform their job or the person’s school work.
They may find it hard to focus, and they might lose attention in their usual activities. they may have few interests, even though they seem busy than usual.
Other signs of anorexia:
Eating very little for a long time can effect in physical symptoms, such as:
- Fine furry hair (lanugo) growing on their body
- More hair on their face
- Their pubic hair becoming bare and thin
Their heartbeat may be irregular or slow, which can lead to poor motion. they may also:
- Have pain in their abdomen (tummy)
- Feel swollen or constipated
- Have swelling in their hands, feet or face (known as oedema)
- Feel tired (fatigue), as their sleep patterns may have changed
- Have low blood pressure (hypotension)
- Feel cold or have a low body temperature (hypothermia)
- Feel light-headed or dizzy
In children with anorexia, teenage years and the associated growth shoot may be delayed. they may gain less weight than estimated (if any) and may be smaller than other people of the same age.
Older girls and women with anorexia may stop having their periods (known as absent periods or amenorrhoea). Anorexia can also lead to unproductiveness.
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