Anorexia Nervos A Type Of Eating Disorder Essay example -- Obesity, Body

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a type of eating disorder characterized by intense fear of gaining weight (1). People with anorexia have a distorted body image, persistent preoccupation with thinness, excessive exercising, unwillingness to maintain minimal weight, and disturbed eating behaviours (1-2). The lifetime prevalence of AN is about 0.3 - 1.0% in women and 0.3% in men (3), with a peak age of onset at 13 to 18 years (4). The mortality rate of AN is reported to be higher than of any other psychiatric illness. Estimates show that around 10% of people with AN die within 10 years from the development of the condition (5). Two major subtypes of AN have been identified: eating/purging and restricting subtypes. Individuals with the eating/purging subtype maintain their low body weight by engaging in binge-eating and/or purging behaviours by misusing diuretics or laxatives, and induce vomiting. Those with the restricting subtype limit their food intake and exercise excessively (5). Anorexia affects both the body and the mind of the person. Although individuals lose a lot of weight, they still view themselves as fat, become preoccupied with food, and are socially withdrawn (5). Onset of AN starts as innocent dieting, but gradually gets out of control. Progressively, people become obsessively preoccupied with weight loss and limit the amount of food intake. Some individuals begin starving themselves and exercise excessively to become dangerously thin. Others lose weight by misusing laxatives, self-induced vomiting, diuretics or enemas. Severe cases on AN include suicide attempts and occur in about 20-30% of individuals (6). The suicide rates for women with AN is about 57 times higher than that for women of similar age in the gene... ... middle of paper ... ...alent and has serious psychological and medical consequences. These particular age groups are at a higher risk for developing AN, due to biological and sociocultural influences. In order to avoid long-term health problems, it is imperative that early signs associated with AN are recognised. Quick detection and vigorous treatment are needed to prevent medical complications and chronicity. Treatment interventions that focus on weight restoration, negative thought targeting, blame reduction, and actively integrate caregivers and families have emerged as particularly effective (25, 26). FBT and CBT are valuable parts of treatment, but no specific approach is superior to any other. While the evidence for treatment interventions continues to grow, families and physicians must work in collaboration to promote remission and to prevent relapses in patients diagnosed with AN.