Statistics of Anorexia

Studies have shown that without treatment, up to 20% of people with serious eating disorders die according to Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc. It is also said that with treatment, 2 – 3% of people with anorexia die. Mortality rates from anorexia are known to be the highest of any psychological disorder. Only 60% are known to make a full recovery with treatment and about 20% make a partial recovery from this harmful disorder. The last 20% stay dangerously underweight and are seen frequently in emergency rooms, mental health clinics, inpatient hospital units, and eating disorder treatment programs. People with anorexia can suffer a number of potentially fatal medical conditions, including heart disease, potassium and magnesium imbalances that can lead to heart failure, kidney and liver disease, osteoporosis, dizziness and fainting, low blood pressure, ulcers, nausea, irregular heart rhythm, headaches, and a myriad of other physical problems.  Anorexic statistics indicate that they also experience psychological problems as well such as anxiety, and depression. Most anorexics are known to be young women and about 10% are only males. About 1 – 5% of all female adolescents and young women are anorexic and the average age of onset is 17.  It is extremely rare for children under the age of 10 to have the condition and women over the age of 40. Anorexia is shown to be much more prevalent in western culture than in non-western countries because of the media in western society, which portrays thin women as desirable and beautiful. However, anorexia is beginning to spread to the non-western countries due to the exposure of western culture and media. Only about 1 in 10 people receive treatment for their disorder. There are many reasons for this such as not having enough money to cover the treatment, or they may leave early because they still think they are fine and do not have this disorder. It costs about $1,000 per day for treatment and the treatment is supposed to last from 3 to 6 months. Some other related statistics of anorexia is that it is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents, about 40 – 60% of high school girls diet, 80% of 13 year old girls have dieted, 50% of girls between the ages of 13 and 15 believe they are overweight, and 40% of 9 year old girls dieted. These statistics are grim and hopefully the numbers will begin to decrease as more people with this disorder get treatment. http://www.mirror-mirror.org/anorexia-statistics.htm

bulimia and how it is related to anorexia

Bulimia is another form of an eating disorder that deals with issues of weight. However, instead of rapidly losing an excess amount of weight, they may be overweight or even a normal weight. Bulimia deals with the issue of binging and purging. This is when a person will eat a large quantity of food in a relatively short period of time and then use behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or taking laxatives. People who suffer from this disorder know that they have an eating disorder. They are still fascinated by food but they do not wish to gain the weight that the food will bring to them. As does anorexia, weight obsession of what they look like persists and eventually gets worse. A person who is bulimic can tend to have large fluctuations in their weight or the day before they binge they may fast. There are two types of bulimia; purging and non-purging. the purging type is when the person has regularly engaged in self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. The non-purging type is when the person has used other inappropriate compensatory behaviors, such as fasting or excessive exercise, but has not regularly engaged in self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. These behaviors normally occur at least twice a week. The most common cause of bulimia and anorexia is a trend of sexual, physical or emotional abuse. There is also a connection to clinical depression that can lead to these horrible eating disorders or a person may even become depressed from these eating disorders. Emotional problems evolve as these disorders continue to take over peoples lives where they become trapped and need serious help.http://www.something-fishy.org/whatarethey/bulimia.php

anorexia and the brain

The brain has a large part in the causes of of anorexia nervosa. Studies by Arline Kaplan have actually revealed neurocircuit dysregulation and has helped clarify the disorder’s confounding symptoms to this disorder. The studies have shown that insights into the ventral (limbic) and dorsal (cognitive) neural circuit dysfunction, perhaps related to altered serotonin and dopamine metabolism, may help explain why people with anorexia feel as if dieting reduces their anxiety while eating actually increases it. This is also the cause of why they worry about long-term consequences but seem immune to immediate gratification and unable to live in the moment. Personality traits can also cause the outcome of this disorder. Some examples include harm avoidance, anxiety, behavioral inhibition, difficulty with moving from one mental set to another, a tendency to focus on details rather than the big picture, and perfectionism. Even after recovery from anorexia, these traits persist. The starvation and malnutrition involved with the disorder can negatively effect the brain. Such changes include neurochemical imbalances, which can exaggerate the preexisting traits and accelerate the disease process. People with this disorder tend to have a reduced brain volume and a regression to prepubertal gonadal function. However, these disturbances tend to normalize after weight restoration, which is suggesting that these alterations are state-related. Imaging studies have shown that individuals with anorexia have an imbalance between circuits in the brain that regulate emotion and rewardand circuits that are associated with consequences and planning ahead. There has also been brain-imaging studies that show that people with anorexia have alterations in parts of the brain involving with interoceptive self-awareness that In addition, altered function of other related regions may be implicated in disturbed bodily sensations. Anorexia may may also contribute to sensing of the rewarding aspects of pleasurable foods. This is stating that people with anorexia may literally not recognize when they are hungry. http://eatingdisorders.ucsd.edu/documents/Kaplan_PsychiatricTimes.pdf

psych blog

Anorexia is usually developed amongst adolescent girls thinking they are overweight when they are not. Around the onset of puberty there is a stage girls go through where they feel as if they need to lose weight because they are self conscious about their body. A weight loss is when you lose 15% of your normal body weight. Many anorexics decide to use laxatives or they overly exercise to lose more weight. This disorder is most common between dancers, models, celebrities, distance runners and theater. Some major symptoms of this can be not wanting or refusing to eat in public, a loss in three menstrual cycles, brittle skin, shortness in breath, anxiety and obsessiveness about calorie intake. Some medical risks that can follow with this disorder are shrunken bones, mineral loss, irregular heartbeat, low body temperature, permanent failure of normal growth, and development of osteoporosis and/or bulimia nervosa. The use of laxatives can also harm the bowel muscle from being overused. Being pregnant with anorexia is also a very dangerous thing that can occur. Most people with anorexia cannot conceive or they have many miscarriages due to the menstrual cycles being screwed up. The baby can also be born prematurely which can put it at risk of many medical problems. A person that is pregnant that recovered from anorexia can however have healthy babies as long as they have more prenatal care than normal people. This eating disorder can be overcome. The only hard part is getting the anorexic person to admit their disorder and get help. It is the same with and alcoholic or a drug abuser not admitting their addiction. The only thing different is that an anorexic person has an addiction to not eating and losing weight. A person with anorexia can either get their disorder from the media, a traumatic experience, or even some type of sport than can cause their obsession over weight loss.   http://www.mamashealth.com/anorexia.asp 

anorexia

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards says that anorexia is a psychological disorder is a condition that goes beyond out-of-control dieting. A person with anorexia often initially begins dieting to lose weight. Over time, the weight loss becomes a sign of mastery and control. The drive to become thinner is actually secondary to concerns about control and/or fears relating to one's body.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorexia_nervosay.