Anorexia nervosa, often simply called anorexia, is a serious and potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterised by a relentless pursuit of thinness, a distorted perception of body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, and extremely restrictive eating habits. This restriction leads to a significantly low body weight that is unhealthy for the individual's age, sex, height, and overall physical health.

Here's a breakdown of the key characteristics of anorexia:

Core Features:

• Restriction of Energy Intake: Individuals with anorexia severely limit the amount of food they eat, leading to a significantly low body weight. This can involve dieting, fasting, or excessive exercise.
• Intense Fear of Gaining Weight: This fear is persistent and often irrational, and it doesn't diminish even as the person loses weight and becomes underweight.
• Disturbance in Body Image: Individuals with anorexia have a distorted view of their body weight and shape. They may see themselves as overweight even when they are dangerously thin. They often place undue importance on their body weight and shape in their self-evaluation and may deny the seriousness of their low body weight.

Other Common Behaviours and Symptoms:

• Preoccupation with Food and Weight: Individuals may obsessively think about food, calories, dieting, and exercise vomiting. They might develop rigid rules or rituals around eating.
• Denial of Hunger: They may ignore or deny feelings of hunger.
• Lying about Eating: They might lie about how much they've eaten or try to hide their eating habits from others.
• Social Withdrawal: They may withdraw from social situations that involve food.
• Excessive Exercise: Many individuals with anorexia engage in compulsive and excessive exercise, even when injured or ill.
• Use of Compensatory Behaviours: Some individuals with anorexia may engage in purging behaviours, such as self-induced vomiting, or misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas to try to lose weight. This is a subtype known as anorexia nervosa, binge-eating/purging type. However, unlike bulimia nervosa, individuals with this subtype are still significantly underweight.
• Physical Symptoms: Anorexia can lead to numerous physical health problems, including:
  • Significant weight loss
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Dizziness or fainting
  • Low blood pressure and slow heart rate
  • Irregular or absent menstrual periods (amenorrhea)
  • Dry skin and brittle nails
  • Hair loss
  • Constipation and abdominal pain
  • Intolerance to cold
  • Fine, downy hair growth all over the body (lanugo)
  • Electrolyte imbalances, which can be life-threatening

Important Considerations:

• It's a Mental Illness: Anorexia nervosa is a serious mental illness, not a lifestyle choice. It often develops as a way to cope with emotional distress or feelings of lack of control.
• Severity: Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. The severe malnutrition and physical complications can be fatal.
• Treatment: Treatment typically involves a multidisciplinary approach, including medical care, nutritional rehabilitation, and psychotherapy (such as cognitive behavioural therapy, family-based therapy, or other specialised therapies). The goal is to restore a healthy weight, address the psychological issues underlying the disorder, and prevent relapse.

If you or someone you know is struggling with anorexia, seeking professional help as soon as possible is crucial. Early intervention significantly improves the chances of recovery.