Anorexia Nervosa – Psychological Eating Disorder
All eating illness is not physical but some on them are psychological too. One such eating disorder is Anorexia Nervosa. It is defined as mental disorder. The person with Anorexia Nervosa has deformed body image and a fear of gaining weight, so the person intentionally efforts to reduce weight. Anorexia Nervosa is more prominent in female population but male too suffer with this mental disorder.
People often confuse Anorexia Nervosa with Anorexia (Loss of appetite or interest in food). However it should not be mixed with Anorexia Nervosa. A person suffering from Anorexia Nervosa:
- Weighs much less than ideal weight - at least 15 percent or even more.
- Generally has BMI (Body Mass Index) of 17.5 or less.
- In case of females - has missed three successive menstrual periods.
- Has obsession with body weight and shape
- Has severe fear of getting fat.
Almost 70 percent of patients are between ages 11-20. The fatality rate of Anorexia Nervosa is 6 percent of which 50 percent die due to suicide – it is the highest death rate in any psychological illness.
Person suffering from this mental illness are often perfectionist who set objective for themselves which is beyond their scope – failing to achieve the goal they set for themselves they start regulating things under their control like eating and body weight. Person in this illness has an overstated fear of losing control which is accompanied by low self-esteem and self- criticism. The patient feels like losing control even after eating less amount of food.
