Anorexia Research Paper

Submitted By tillywilly90
Words: 692
Pages: 3

Anorexia Nervosa is a type of eating disorder in which a person makes sure to maintain a low body weight by dieting, fasting, exercising and other stuff. Most people with anorexia are misunderstood, they see themselves different then how others see them. Bulimia nervosa is a type of eating disorder in which a person controls their body weight after eating massive amounts of food by self-induced vomiting, laxatives, diet pills and other means.
There is three main causes of anorexia; biological, psychological, and environmental. There might be a genetic change that makes some people more vulnerable towards anorexia. One of the brain chemicals involved in depression, serotonin, may cause anorexia. Some young people might have obsessive-compulsive personality that makes it easier to stick to strict diets; they might have an extreme need for perfection. The media in our society today is sending out images of thin models and actresses, young girls may think they need to look like them to be successful in life. Bulimia’s exact cause is unknown to this day. There is many possible roles that could cause eating disorders. Extreme weight loss, thin appearance, abnormal blood counts, insomnia, dizziness or fainting, hair loss, dry skin, and swelling of arms or legs are some basic physical symptoms of anorexia. Emotional and behavioral symptoms would involve refusing to eat, denying hunger, fear of gaining weight or getting fat, social withdrawal, lying about food intake, excessive exercise, irritability, and depressed mood. Bulimia and anorexia have some common symptoms such as, fear of gaining weight, and being concerned about body shape and weight. Other symptoms of bulimia involve eating until felling sick, eating more food than a normal person eats in one meal, eating until you feel sick, self-induced vomiting and abusing laxatives, diet pills or herbal products to prevent weight gain.
For the diagnoses for anorexia to take place the person must have a refusal to maintain a normal or above weight for age and height. Maintenance of body weight is less that 85% of that excepted to gain during growth, intense fear of getting fat or gaining weight even if severely underweight and a disturbance in which a person sees their body weight and shape in a different manor then it is, is the is criteria for anorexia. The criteria for bulimia is recurrent binge eating (eating more food than a normal person does in one sitting) and doing inappropriate behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as abusing laxatives, diet pills, other medicines, and self-induced vomiting.
Treatment that is needed for anorexia and bulimia would be medical care, psychotherapy (individual therapy, family-based therapy, and group therapy), medications, and hospitalization. Group therapy helps you connect to