Anorexia – causes, symptoms, treatment. Who is at risk of anorexia?

Proven content

Anorexia, or anorexia nervosa, is a mental disorder that affects an increasing number of people, especially at a young age. The essence of anorexia is conscious, strict limiting the amount of food consumed, strong focus on the appearance and weight of the body. What is anorexia? What are its symptoms and causes? Can anorexia be treated?

Anorexia – what is it?

Anorexia nervosa, or anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of one’s own appearance.

In general, anorexia is when a person has a strong fear of gaining weight and consistently strives to achieve the lowest possible body weight.. Usually, malnutrition is found to varying degrees with secondary hormonal and metabolic changes and disturbances in the functioning of the body. Anorexia is considered a mental illness.

It is quite often mistakenly believed that anorexia is associated with a lack of appetite, but the truth is that the person is hungry but refuses to eat for fear of gaining weight. A person suffering from anorexia has a distorted body image. He still believes that he is overweight or obese.

There are two main types of anorexia: 

1. restrictive type – starvation dominates. There are no states of overeating, overuse of laxatives, dehydrating agents, no vomiting,
2. voracious – expelling type – uncontrolled overeating, induction of vomiting, use of laxatives.

Anorexia – epidemiology

According to statistical research, around two million people suffer from anorexia on a global scale. It is estimated that in the countries of Western civilization, anorexia nervosa suffers from 0.9 to 4,3% in the course of life. women and from 0,2 to 0,3 percent. men. Anorexia is much more common in Caucasians, especially in adolescence.

The fact is that this disease started to appear much more often in the XNUMXth century, but it is not clear whether it was due to better diagnostics or actual environmental factors that led some people to the aforementioned pattern of attractiveness, promoted in the XNUMXth and XNUMXst centuries. Anorexia nervosa was first diagnosed in 1873 by William Gull. Every year, about 500-600 people die worldwide due to drastic weight loss, often as a result of further complications or suicide.

It is estimated that in Poland this problem affects from 0,8% to 1,8% of the population of girls under 18 years of age.

See also: What are Selective Eating Disorders?

Anorexia – diagnosis

The ICD-10 International Classification of Diseases presents the following diagnostic criteria for anorexia:

1. weight loss, leading to a body weight of at least 15 percent below the normal or expected body weight for the patient’s age and height;
2. the body weight ratio is dictated by the patient himself by avoiding fattening food and, moreover, by inducing vomiting, using laxatives, exhausting exercise, using appetite suppressants or diuretics;
3. self-perception of obesity and fear of gaining weight, leading to self-imposed low weight threshold; fear of obesity occurs in the form of intrusive overvalued thought;
4. endocrine disorders, manifested in women, amenorrhea, and in men, loss of sexual interest and potency. There is also an increase in the level of growth hormone and changes in thyroid hormone metabolism and disorders of insulin secretion.

There are also criteria for mental anorexia according to DSM-IV-TR: 

1. refusal to maintain body weight at the level of the minimum weight correct for age and height;
2. increased fear of weight gain and weight gain, even in the case of insufficient body weight;
3. the impact of incorrect perception of one’s body shape on self-esteem and current body weight;
4. in women, after the onset of menstruation, menstruation may decline for a period of at least three consecutive monthly cycles (if menstruation occurs only as a result of the use of hormones, e.g. estrogens, a woman is considered amenorrhoeic).

See: What can amenorrhea mean?

Anorexia – causes

The exact cause of anorexia is unknown. As with many diseases, it is likely a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors.

Anorexia – psychological causes

People falling into anorexia depict perfectionism in various areas of their lives, and thus, excessive concentration on their own body. Future anorexics are highly intelligent, they are usually top students at school. Many actions they take are accompanied by fear of failure and uncertainty of success.

Another characteristic feature is low self-esteem. People with low self-criticism are described as oversensitive, fearful, emotionally tense, suspicious and distrustful of others. They are characterized by a negative attitude towards themselves, hypersensitivity to criticism, and a sense of hopelessness.

Some people with anorexia may have obsessive-compulsive personality traits that make it easier to stick to a strict diet and give up eating despite starvation. They may be extremely prone to perfectionism, which causes them to think that they are never thin enough. They may also experience high levels of anxiety and engage in restrictive eating to reduce it.

Anorexia – biological causes

While it is not yet clear which genes are involved, genetic changes can occur that increase the risk of anorexia in some people. Some people may have a genetic predisposition for perfectionism, sensitivity, and persistence – all traits associated with anorexia.

See: Do men suffer from anorexia?

Anorexia – environmental causes

Nowadays, one of the main causes of anorexia is the popular cult of beauty and a slim figure. Promoting skinny models in the mass media, excessive physical activity and the stereotype that people with only the smallest size of clothes can be successful in life has a huge impact on the awareness of adolescent girls.

In pursuit of the current trends, they use slimming diets, engage in excessive physical activity and, in the worst case, use laxatives to achieve their dream figure. There is also a belief that if they take care of their body, they will prevent many diseases. Of course, that’s right, but over-grooming of your body and health also works in the opposite direction and can cause specific health conditions.

Read also: Genes decide who has what physique

Anorexia – risk factors

Anorexia is most common in girls and young women. However, more and more often this eating disorder is also seen in young boys and men – probably due to increasing pressure from society.

Overall, anorexia is most common in young people, adolescents. However, this does not exclude the occurrence of this eating disorder in other age groups, although it rarely occurs in people over 40 years of age. Teens may be at greater risk because of all the changes that occur in their bodies during adolescence. In addition, peer pressure and sensitivity to criticism and random comments regarding weight and body shape can also influence the development of anorexia nervosa.

Other risk factors for anorexia include:

1. genetic factors – changes in certain genes can put some people at greater risk of anorexia. People with a first degree relative – a parent, siblings – with the disorder have an increased likelihood of developing anorexia,
2. diet – diet is a risk factor for the development of eating disorders. There is strong evidence that many of the symptoms of anorexia are actually symptoms of hunger. Hunger affects the brain and affects mood, disturbed thinking, anxiety and decreased appetite. Hunger and weight loss can change the way the brain works in sensitive individuals, which can perpetuate restrictive eating behavior and make it difficult to return to normal eating habits.
3. Stressful Situations – Whether it’s a new school, home or job, relationship breakdown, death or illness of a loved one, the change can cause emotional stress and increase the risk of anorexia.

Read: Stress – an old friend – today’s killer

Anorexia – symptoms

The first symptoms of anorexia appear before full-blown anorexia develops – patients overly concentrate on the image of their own body, its dimensions, and dissatisfaction with some features of their appearance.

A devastating starvation has a great impact on the psyche of a young person. Malnutrition causes changes in the functioning of the brain that affect thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Typical symptoms are irritability or apathy. Consequently, the teenager becomes recalcitrant, refuses to admit to the disease and refuses treatment.

In the initial period, the patient hides food restriction from her family. The moment he notices weight loss, there is euphoria, satisfaction and an increasing focus on losing more unnecessary kilograms. Additionally, there is a growing fear of uncontrolled weight gain. It gets deeper and deeper every day. With increased force, the sick person avoids eating, provokes vomiting or uses laxatives.

Avoiding food intake becomes our most important value. He reluctantly participates in family dining. He closes himself to the world, avoids any contacts with the peer group, does not participate in social life. It is focused only on the image of its own body. There is also an incorrect body image and disturbed cognitive perception of stimulus interpretation (dysmorphophobia). This disease causes a number of symptoms related to the functioning of the body, including:

1. loss of adipose tissue and muscle mass, resulting in emaciation and emaciation; 
2. lowering the basal body temperature below 36 degrees Celsius;
3. lowering blood pressure below 120/70 mm Hg (the first three of the above-mentioned symptoms are a consequence of a slowdown in metabolic processes); 
4. bruising of the distal parts of the limbs and swelling; 
5. bradycardia, arrhythmias; 
6. feeling of excessive fullness in the abdomen with flatulence and constipation; 
7. disappearance of the menstrual cycle;
8. change in the size of the uterus and ovaries;
9. the appearance of a characteristic fluff on the body – lanugo – with dry, flaky skin with a tendency to yellow discoloration; 
10. hair loss;
11. osteopenia with osteoporosis (mainly in patients with many years of medical history),
12. inflammation of the stomach and intestines,
13. dehydration;
14. gingivitis, caries;
15. yellow skin;
16. cold intolerance;
17. tiredness;
18. insomnia.

The editorial board recommends: How to deal with insomnia?

Anorexia – treatment

Treatment of anorexia nervosa is associated with a gradual increase in the weight of the sick person, combined with the ongoing therapy by a psychiatrist or psychologist who prescribes medications and locates behavioral factors that strengthen the tendency to refuse to eat. While the drugs themselves do not directly affect weight gain, they improve well-being, eliminate anxiety and depression, which indirectly contributes to the return to proper eating habits.

Currently, many psychological therapies are used equally in the world, including cognitive therapy and the so-called Maudsley family therapyin which parents take over the responsibility for feeding sick children. In cases of extreme anorexia, hospitalization and enteral feeding are also used. The effectiveness of individual treatments varies greatly from patient to patient. Some people return to normal weight after one anorectic episode, while for others the problem recurs many times over.

Anorexia – complications

The dangerously low weight makes the anorexic organism very weak. It lacks vitamins and basic nutrients, the functioning of internal organs is disturbed.

People suffering from anorexia should be aware of the consequences of this disease:

1. concentration disorders,
2. chronic fatigue,
3. epileptic seizures,
4. atrophy of the cerebral cortex in the central nervous system,
5. disturbance of the thermoregulation process (feeling cold),
6. hormonal disorders (amenorrhea),
7. reduction in the size of the ovaries and uterus (leading to infertility),
8. flatulence
9. constipation
10. stomach pain,
11. vomiting,
12. gastritis,
13. cardiovascular malfunction,
14. fainting
15. blood clotting and heart rhythm disorders,
16. hair loss,
17. brittleness and brittleness of nails,
18. mouth corners.

The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website.Do you need a medical consultation or an e-prescription? Go to halodoctor.pl, where you will get online help – quickly, safely and without leaving your home.