When weight loss and eating disorders become excessive and the normal body mass is decreased significantly, often leading to serious health issues or even death, it is called anorexia nervosa. The fear of getting fat or gaining weight in teens, especially women leads them to starve themselves to control weight irrespective of what their actual weight is. The recent study also indicates that about 13% of women aged over 50 years have this psychological disorder, which if goes untreated, can cause death too.

• In the binge-purge type anorexia nervosa, the patient has the tendency to vomit forcefully or exercising rigorously to alleviate the weight.
• In the restrictive anorexia, the patient becomes too self-disciplined and consumes a small amount of food which is not sufficient to keep the body weight normal.

What are the causes of anorexia nervosa?
Although the exact reason behind having anorexia nervosa is not known, generally the biological and life events are considered to be the prevalent reasons. If parents had an eating disorder history, the genes can get transferred to the offspring and also the siblings. Lack of self-confidence, bullying from others regarding physical appearance or having bitter social experience can lead to anorexia.

Those who excel in their sectors can get over-conscious in being a perfectionist, thereby starving themselves to grow lean. Besides, biological factors like the fluctuation of Serotonin level can cause anorexia nervosa.

What are the symptoms of anorexia nervosa?
The behavioral symptoms of anorexia are too much attempt to lose weight through high-intensity exercise, fasting or strict dieting, binging and vomiting to lose calorie and irregular consumption of enemas, laxatives, and dietary supplements.

Other behavioral-emotional symptoms are as follows:

• Irritation, flat mood, mood swings, and insomnia
• Being non-social
• Lack of sexual interest
• Nagging about getting fat body parts, checking mirrors often
• Covering body parts in layers
• Frequent measuring of weight
• Lying about food intake, denying hunger
• Skipping meals or eating safe foods
• Exercising irrespective of the weather or physical condition etc

The physical symptoms of having anorexia include the following.

• Abdominal pain, constipation, gastric reflux
• Fluctuation of blood pressure, thyroid, potassium, and heart rate level
• Lack of concentration
• Fainting, dizziness, insomnia
• Feeling cold often
• Amenorrhea or irregular periods
• Weak muscles
• Poor healing of wounds
• Discolored teeth, cavities
• Developing lanugo
• Swelling around salivary glands
• Dry skin
• Brittle nails
• Calluses and cuts on knuckles for induced vomiting
• Fatigue and lethargy
• Hair loss
• Dehydration
• Swelled arms and legs

What are the treatments for anorexia nervosa?
The first step in treating the disorder of anorexia nervosa is to restore the normal weight or the patient, which can be done by following.

• The physician can give medicines like antidepressants and supervise the weight gain while the dietician prescribes a healthy diet according to the calorie needs.
• The family or close ones can give mental support and help the patient overcome the urge of starving or purging.
• The psychiatrist or counselor can help in coping up the behavioral changes and controlling the emotions so that eating patterns are normalized and restrictive eating is stopped.

In some cases when the patient is adamant, the nasogastric tube can be used to feed them. In severe malnutrition cases or excessive psychological disorders, hospitalization might be needed to supervise health conditions and maintaining proper food habits.

To make things work, the patient should stick to a proper treatment plan and stay with their loved ones who would help them cope up with the disorder and gain self-resistance in checking mirrors or getting into starvation.