Anorexia
The scientific name for anorexia is anorexia nervosa. People with anorexia become completely obsessed with weight and dieting. They develop a fear of becoming fat and have a distorted mental image of their body, always seeing themselves as fat, even when they are extremely thin.
Common attributes of anorexic sufferers are under-eating, vigorous exercise, ritualistic food habits and abuse of laxatives cause excessive loss of weight.
Most anorexic people have no history of being overweight.
Who's affected by anorexia?
Anorexia nervosa usually starts in the mid-teens, although it can start at any age. Women are more likely than men to have anorexia - about 90 per cent of those affected are female.
It's estimated about three or four people in every 100 have anorexia. Most deny they have a problem and many have depression. If a family member has had anorexia in the past, it is more likely for a relative will have anorexia.
What are the effects of anorexia?
Lack of food deprives the body of essential protein and prevents the normal metabolism of fat, resulting in:
- An irregular heartbeat that can lead to heart failure and death
- Dehydration
- Kidney stone formation and kidney failure
- Weakness because of muscle wasting
- Constipation
- Growth of fine downy hair on the face and arms
- Lack of calcium, which may cause osteoporosis
- Interrupted or no periods
Can anorexia be prevented?
It's difficult to prevent anorexia from developing because it's unclear precisely why the condition occurs. But it may be possible to avoid or address some risk factors, such as social and cultural pressures to be thin, bullying, low self-esteem and family dysfunction. The most important step is recognition by the individual that they've got a problem.
What is the treatment for anorexia?
After assessment by a psychiatrist at a specialist eating disorders unit, counselling, antidepressants and advice on healthy eating may be offered.
Admission to hospital is often needed to treat any physical problems that have resulted from under-eating.
Tomato diet model dies of anorexia
A fashion model who lived on a diet of apples and tomatoes has died from kidney failure on the eve of a photographic shoot.
Ana Carolina Reston, 21, who had been modelling since she was 13, weighed six stone.
The 5ft 7in Brazilian was due to travel to France to work but instead spent the last three weeks of her life in hospital. Her death comes amid fears that designers are still using size zero models suffering from anorexia despite calls that they should be banned because they encourage eating disorders in young women.
The trend for size zero models – equivalent to a British size four – began as a fad in Los Angeles. Miss Reston died in San Paolo on Tuesday. She is the second anorexic model to die this year. Luisel Ramos, 22, suffered a heart attack in August after living on lettuce leaves and Diet Coke for three months.
Relatives said Miss Reston had resisted admitting she was ill. Geise Strauss, 30, her cousin, said: "When she did eat, she ate very little and she'd go to the bathroom and make herself sick as soon as she left the table. She liked apples and she adored tomatoes but that was about it."
Viviane Setti, the mother of Miss Reston's boyfriend, said: "Ana's death should serve as a wake-up call to all modelling agencies about anorexia. There's nothing glamorous about an ending like hers."
Last month, specialists at the eating disorders service and research unit at King's College, London, wrote to the British Fashion Council criticising the use of super-thin models who are "clearly anorexic".
PLEASE!!!! DON'T BE AN ANOREXIC!!!!!!!
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