What you should know about anorexia nervosa

by Ellern Mede Eating Disorder Treatment

Eating disorders plague millions of adults and adolescents around the world, and the pool of people struggling with eating disorders is rapidly transcending boundaries of race, age, and gender. Although adolescent women remain the largest demographic suffering from disorders involving eating habits, eating disorders among minorities, males, and children under the age of 12 are on the rise. And the eating disorders that most of these people are suffering from is "anorexia nervosa."

In this blog, we will look at what this disorder means, what its consequences are, and how one can recover from it.

What is anorexia nervosa?

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterised by starvation and malnutrition. Anorexia sufferers have a distorted image of their body and relentlessly pursue 'being thin' even when they are already grossly underweight. They obsess over food and drastically reduce their food intake, resulting in malnutrition.

Dangers of anorexia nervosa

This process of self-starvation and malnutrition can have serious consequences. An individual suffering from anorexia nervosa is at an increased risk of:

- Heart failure

- Low blood pressure

- Fainting and dizzy spells

- Chronic fatigue

- Hair loss

- Muscle loss and weakness

- Brittle and weak bones

- Dehydration

- Kidney failure

Treatment for anorexia nervosa

It is crucial for individuals suffering from eating disorders to seek careful medical attention from professionally licensed anorexia treatment centres experienced in the complex issues of anorexia.

Because eating disorders affect the mental and physical systems of an individual, due care must be attended to both. To achieve a full recovery, the symptoms, as well as the disorder, must be treated, and treatment for the physical as well as the psychological elements must be addressed. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa can have aggressive effects. Still, with proper anorexia nervosa treatment at a reputable centre, an individual's disorder can be handled, and a full and lasting recovery can be achieved.