Health Care

From Matthew Tiemeyer,

Physical, Mental, and Behavioral Symptoms

The symptoms of anorexia nervosa have a wide range. Extreme weight loss leads to many secondary symptoms. Note that the physical, mental, and behavioral worlds of a person struggling with anorexia overlap: Each area has the potential to affect the other two.
Physical Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa

The most visible symptom of anorexia nervosa is weight loss, which is often clear to the casual observer. But the body of a person with anorexia changes in many ways:

* Weight loss (achieved via restricting food or purging it): A person with anorexia will lose weight because, by definition, she refuses to maintain or achieve a body weight of 85% of the expected weight for her age and height.
* Amenorrhea (interruption of the menstrual cycle): Amenorrhea is present if there is an absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles, or if the person needs to take estrogen for her normal cycle to occur.
* Bone loss (osteoporosis or osteopenia)
* Extra sensitivity to cold
* Bloated stomach after eating (since the stomach loses its ability to deal with a normal quantity of food at one sitting)
* Lanugo--a fine hair that grows on the skin in response to the body's need for warmth
* Yellowed skin (often from getting too much vitamin A as a result of eating only certain foods, like carrots)
* Thinning hair

Mental and Behavioral Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa

In addition to physical changes, friends and family may notice changes to the person's thoughts and behaviors:

* Distortion of body image or excessive importance placed on body composition or shape
* Denial of seriousness of low weight
* Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even if the person is considered underweight
* Confused thinking (since the brain needs fuel to function properly)
* Ritualistic eating (including cutting food into a planned number of bites)
* Spitting out food before swallowing
* Much more attention paid to nutrition labels
* Major increase in exercise output, even when exhausted
* Hatred for foods that used to be favorites
* Refusal to eat with others
* Binge eating (for the binge eating/purging subtype of anorexia)
* Increased or unnecessary use of laxatives, or vomiting after eating (for the binge eating/purging subtype of anorexia)

Questions About Anorexia Nervosa Symptoms?

Remember that only a trained professional can make an accurate diagnosis and determine the proper subtype of an eating disorder.
Also, not having all the symptoms of anorexia nervosa does not mean that you don't have another eating disorder. If you have questions, make an appointment with a treatment provider near you.


Sources Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc. "Eating disorders warning signs." Accessed 11 December 2006. University of Maryland Medical Center. "Anorexia nervosa." A.D.A.M. Accessed 2 December 2006.

from:about.com