| Valkyrie |
11-19-2007 06:11 |
Anorexia is derived from the Greet root “orexis” which means “longing, yearning or appetite” together with the negating prefix “a”(Lintott). However, anorexia nervosa is not to be confused with anorexia i.e. loss of appetite. An anorectic does not lose her appetite; instead, she refuses to maintain her body weight (Michel). Such anorectics lose atleast 15 percent of their body weight relative to their height and live under the intense fear of gaining weight. They have a high impractical view of their bodies, believing that they are fat when they are skinny. Their self-esteem rely mainly on their body shape, weight and size. One of the physiological warning signs of Anorexia is when an anorexic female stops menstruating after losing a certain amount of weight; in prepubescent girls, they are less likely to begin menstruating because of weight loss and more likely to miss crucial stages of breast development (Kinoy,2001; Michel, 2003). As the illness progresses, strange behaviors begin to surface; the anorexic will exercise excessively despite being at an unhealthy weight, insisting that she feels fine; she would enjoy preparing some meal for others but she would deprive herself from having a bite; she will often cut her food into tiny pieces, measuring and weighing everything she consumes( Michel). As mentioned earlier, some anorexics exhibit a pattern of binge eating following by purging behavior to get rid of the calories they consumed. Binge eating is described as eating a huge amount of food in a short period of time. The anorectic who binges, feels out of control, then experiences anxiety, guilt and shame over what she eaten. Such negative feeling would cause her to use means to eliminate the calories that she has eaten. Of those include self-induced vomiting, a frequent form of purging behavior. Others include the use of laxatives, fluid pills, enemas and syrup of ipecac.
Along with physical changes, personality changes include isolation, angry outbursts and depression. While anxiety disorders are quite common among anorexics, they frequently occur before the eating disorder develops. Two studies have shown that 60 percent and 80 percent respectively, suffered from an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
Anorexia nervosa is regarded as life threatening condition as it has one of the highest mortality rates among any psychiatric disorder (Michel). The body pays a heavy debt on the illness, such that the body burns muscle as means to provide fuel as starvation progresses (Kinoy, 2001). Gradually, blood pressure drops and heart rate slows down. Thus, to protect the crucial organs, the heart reduces circulation to the periphery, which leads to the appearance of the bluish-purplish discoloration of the fingers on anorexics, especially in the cold weather. Furthermore, cardiac impairment interferes with the ability of the heart to circulate oxygen to the tissues in response to exercise. As a result, underweight patients are at huge risk to die if they continue to exercise. Even at rest, anorexics would experience irregular heart rhythms which would eventually lead to sudden death (Kinoy, 2001). Use of laxatives and fluid pills (diuretics) as means of purging also involve serious health risks, such that important body chemicals such as Potassium are often lost. This insufficiency results in irregular heartbeats, and in worse cases, cardiac arrest and even kidney failure (Michel).
Osteoporosis is also associated with anorexia. During adolescence, lifetime bone strength depends on the buildup of bone mass (Kinoy). Anorexia hinders this bone formation, accelerating bone breakdown. As a result, bone thinning maybe observed within six months of menstrual cessation or with the delayed onset of menstruation in premenarchal girls. Various types of bone fractures may arise, and unfortunately, women who recover from anorexia are possibly left with irreversible osteoporosis.
The course of the disorder varies greatly with time. As much as some anorexics recover fully from one episode of illness, some display a chronic course of symptoms which worsens with time, often leading to death (Michel). Women who suffer from anorexia are 12 times most likely to die than those of the same age who have not had anorexia.
Anorexia is quite common in dancers and competitive athletes such as gymnasts , where success does not primarily depend on performance, but on earning the “perfect” body as well (The weight of eating disorders and women’s health).
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