Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Effects of anorexia
Effect on adolescents with anorexia
Biological explanation for anorexia
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Effects of anorexia
WHAT IS ANOREXIA NERVOSA?
According to Michel and Willard (2003), “... between 5 million and 10 million girls and women, and 1 million boys and men, have some type of eating disorder...” Anorexia nervosa, commonly known as anorexia, is one of the primary types of eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa becomes widely recognized as a psychological disorder in 1973 (Michel & Willard, 2003). Anorexia nervosa is when an individual reduces eating 15 percent or more below ideal body weight. Ciccarelli and White (2012) stated that individuals with anorexia have too much leptin, which is a hormone that implicated in obesity. Anorexia is a serious disorder involving intentional starvation, an obsession with food and weight related issues, and extreme fear of weight gain. If anorexia is left untreated, it can be life-threatening, causing damage to organs (“Anorexia Nervosa: M.M.E.,” 2013). Although the exact cause of anorexia nervosa is unknown, it is important to be aware of warning signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa.
SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of anorexia nervosa can be many different things varying from low food intake to extreme self-starvation. Anorexia is not only physical abnormality, it involves mental process. There are many symptoms to look out for in individuals who experiencing anorexia such as extreme fear of gaining weight, low self-esteem due to overly concern of body image, obsessed with exercising, not having a menstrual cycle for more than three or more months (in women), and extremely distorted body images (“Anorexia Nervosa: Symptoms”). According to Ciccarelli and White (2012), “Some individuals with anorexia will eat in front of other people, but then force themselves to throw up or take large doses of laxatives” or “…co...
... middle of paper ...
...a: Symptoms. (n.d.). National eating disorder association. Retrieved April 06, 2014, from http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/anorexia-nervosa
Anorexia nervosa: Treatment. (n.d.). National eating disorder association. Retrieved April 06, 2014, from http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/treating-eating-disorder
Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, J. (2012). Psychology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Michel, D., & Willard, S. G. (2003). When dieting becomes dangerous : A guide to understanding and treating Anorexia and Bulimia. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Steele, R. L. (1976). Anorexia nervosa: A case study. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 27, 47-53.
Anorexia Nervosa: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (2013, February 26). U.S. Library of Medicine. Retrieved April 14, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
ency/article/000362.htm
The World of Psychology. (2002). A Pearson Education Company. Boston, MA: Samuel Wood & Ellen Green Wood p. 593
Bibliography 3rd edition Psychology (Bernstein-Stewart, Roy, Srull, & Wickens) Houghton Mifflin Company Boston, Massachusetts 1994
Anorexia Nervosa may be described directly as an eating disease classified by a deficit in weight, not being able to maintain weight appropriate for one’s height. Anorexia means loss of appetite while Anorexia Nervosa means a lack of appetite from nervous causes. Before the 1970s, most people never heard of Anorexia Nervosa. It was identified and named in the 1870s, before then people lived with this mental illness, not knowing what it was, or that they were even sick. It is a mental disorder, which distorts an individual’s perception of how they look. Looking in the mirror, they may see someone overweight
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2010). Psychology. (2nd ed., p. 600). New York: Worth Pub.
Davis, S. F., & Palladino, J. J. (2003). Psychology. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
As defined by the National Eating Disorders Association, “Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.” (NEDA). The term “Anorexia Nervosa” literally means “neurotic loss of appetite”, and could be more generally defined as the result of a prolonged self-starvation and an unhealthy relationship regarding food and self-image. It is characterized by “resistance to maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height”, “intense fear of weight gain or being “fat”, even though underweight”, “disturbance in the experience of body weight or shape, undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of low body weight”, and “loss of menstrual periods in girls and women post-puberty.”(NEDA) Among women on a range of 15 to 24 years old, AN has been proved to have 12 times the annual mortality rate of all death causes, and from premature deaths of anorexic patients, 1 in every 5 is caused by suicide, which gives a rise of 20% for suicide probability. (EDV)
Gall, S. B., Beins, B., & Feldman, A. (2001). The gale encyclopedia of psychology. (2nd ed., pp. 271-273). Detroit, MI: Gale Group.
In 1978, Brunch called anorexia nervosa a 'new disease' and noted that the condition seemed to overtake ?the daughters of the well-to-do, educated and successful families.? Today it is acknowledged and accepted that anorexia affects more than just one gender or socio-economic class; however, much of the current research is focused on the female gender. ?Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and obsessive exercising. The weight loss eventually produces a variety of physical symptoms associated with starvation: sleep disturbance, cessation of menstruation, insensitivity to pain, loss of hair on the head, low blood pressure, a variety of cardiovascular problems and reduced body temperature. Between 10% and 15% of anorexics literally starve themselves to death; others die because of some type of cardiovascular dysfunction (Bee and Boyd, 2001).?
Westen, D., Burton, L., & Kowalski, R. (2006). Psychology: Australian and New Zealand edition. Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons.
Anorexia may not be noticed in early stages. The Anorexic usually chooses to wear layered and baggy clothes to hide the “ugly fat body” .An Anorexic may have ritualistic eating patterns such as cutting food into little tiny pieces and weighing themselves. These can be found in people who are on a healthy diet, but in Anorexics these behaviors are extremely exaggerated. Other warnings are deliberate self-starvation with weight loss, fear of gaining weight, refusal to eat, denial of hunger, constant exercising, sensitivity to cold, absent or irregular periods, loss of scalp perception of being fat when the person is really to this. Some other associated features are depressed mood, somatic sexual dysfunction, and ...
Out of all mental illnesses found throughout the world, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. Anorexia nervosa is one of the more common eating disorders found in society, along with bulimia nervosa. Despite having many definitions, anorexia nervosa is simply defined as the refusal to maintain a normal body weight (Michel, 2003). Anorexia nervosa is derived from two Latin words meaning “nervous inability to eat” (Frey, 2002). Although anorexics, those suffering from anorexia, have this “nervous inability to eat,” it does not mean that they do not have an appetite—anorexics literally starve themselves. They feel that they cannot trust or believe their perceptions of hunger and satiation (Abraham, 2008). Anorexics lose at least 15 percent of normal weight for height (Michel, 2003). This amount of weight loss is significant enough to cause malnutrition with impairment of normal bodily functions and rational thinking (Lucas, 2004). Anorexics have an unrealistic view of their bodies—they believe that they are overweight, even if the mirror and friends or family say otherwise. They often weigh themselves because they possess an irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming obese (Abraham, 2008). Many anorexics derive their own self-esteem and self-worth from body weight, size, and shape (“Body Image and Disordered Eating,” 2000). Obsession with becoming increasingly thinner and limiting food intake compromises the health of individuals suffering from anorexia. No matter the amount of weight they lose or how much their health is in jeopardy, anorexics will never be satisfied with their body and will continue to lose more weight.
Hewstone, M. Fincham, F. and Foster, J (2005). Psychology. Oxford: The British Psychological Society, and Blackwell Publishing. P3-23.
Girls that suffer from anorexia usually stop having menstrual periods. People with anorexia also have dry skin and thinning hair on their heads. They may have a growth of fine hair all over their body. They may feel cold all the time, and they may get sick quit often. People with anorexia are often in a bad mood. They have a hard time concentrating and are always thinking about food. It is not true that anorexics are never hungry, actually they are always hungry. Feeling hunger gives them a feeling of control over their lives and their bodies. It makes them feel like they are good at something; they are good at losing weight. People with severe anorexia may be at risk of death from starvation.
Boyd, D., Wood, E.G., Wood, S.E. (2014, 2011, 2008). Mastering the world of psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 128-129, 329-330, 335-340. Print.
Edited by Raymond J. Corsini. Encyclopedia of Psychology, Second Edition, Volume 1. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.