Individuals with this disease have an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image, low self esteem, depression and for females, amenorrhea which is an absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles when they are otherwise expected to occur. Those with anorexia will dangerously restrict their caloric and/or fat intake in order to lose weight. Although rare, a major percentage of anorexic individuals will binge eat due to lack of nutrients. Then for fear they will gain weight from their binge, they will proceed to purge either through self induced vomiting, exercising or pills.
Just like all eating disorders, anorexia typically starts before or after puberty; however it can start during any stage of life. Usually young girls are the majority who struggle with this illness, but there has been an increase of boys and older women as well. One reason young girls are more vulnerable to eating disorders is their tendency to go on strict diets to achieve an "ideal" figure. The pressures of society to be thin via advertising and media and the way that society glamorizes this disease is, leading many people down a very dangerous road. Actresses and models are flaunted throughout magazines and television - the envy for all who see there bodies - but the headlines fail to mention all the horrible side effects of the disease; some more severe than others.
Damage to vital organs such as the heart and brain is the result of the lack of nutrients due to starvation. Pulse rate and blood pressure drop, and people suffering from this illness may experience irregular heart rhythms or heart failure. Nutritional deprivation causes calcium loss from bones, which can become brittle and prone to breakage. In the worst-case scenario, people with anorexia can starve themselves to death. Anorexia nervosa is among the psychiatric conditions having the highest mortality rates, killing up to six percent of its victims. These individuals strive to reach that ideal state of thinness, but those ideals are never reached; they are never thin enough.
The causes of anorexia are unknown although environment, personality, genetics and the biochemistry of a person all play a part in the development to this disorder. These individuals tend to have low self esteem, tend to be perfectionists and socially isolate themselves.
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