Anorexia: A few facts and figures

It never hurts to do a little review on a topic that affects so many women, and some men too. The topic: Anorexia.

Anorexia Nervosa, a type of eating disorder characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight and leading to a restriction of food and dangerous weight loss, is one serious disease -- between one and two of every 10 cases of anorexia leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, medical complications, or suicide.

Anorexia can halt the physical and emotional growth of teenagers and can lead to premature osteoporosis, infertility, increased risk of miscarriage, and low-birth-weight babies. Anorexia may be especially deadly for women with insulin-dependent diabetes if they omit or under-use insulin to control their weight.

As with any medical issue, awareness is key. So please be aware of the following symptoms and physical effects of anorexia.

Symptoms of anorexia nervosa can include:

• distorted body image and intense persistent fear of gaining weight
• excessive weight loss
• menstrual irregularities
• excessive body/facial hair
• compulsive exercise

Physical effects of anorexia are:

• anemia, often caused by iron deficiency, which reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen and causes fatigue, difficulty breathing, dizziness, headache, insomnia, pale skin, loss of hunger and irregular heart beat
• elevated cholesterol
• low body temperature and cold hands and feet
• constipation and bloating
• shrunken organs
• low blood pressure
• slowed metabolism and reflexes
• slowed heart rate, which can be mistaken as a sign of physical fitness
• irregular heartbeat, which can lead to cardiac arrest

For more on this very extensive and complicated topic, click here.

For a look at how one young girl perceives her anorexic body, watch this video. Warning: the content might be considered graphic.