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What Is Anorexia?

It's got a fancy Latin name: anorexia nervosa, "nervous want of appetite." It's a killer. One in 10 cases ends in death.

People with anorexia starve themselves by eating far too little food. Eventually they become dangerously thin — yet they still see themselves as fat. People with this eating disorder may become so undernourished that they have to be hospitalized. Even then they often deny that anything is wrong with them.

Anorexia usually begins around the time of puberty. Nine out of 10 people with anorexia are female; one in 100 U.S. women is anorexic. Technically, anorexia is when a person eats so little that their weight drops at least 15% below normal body weight. There are 2 subtypes of anorexia. One type of anorexia is linked to another eating disorder, bulimia, in which people periodically go on eating binges and then force themselves to vomit the food they have eaten. The other subtype does not binge and vomit, but merely restricts the amount of food and calories taken in.

A person with anorexia becomes obsessed about food and weight. Some people develop strange eating rituals and may refuse to eat in front of other people. Many people with anorexia seem to care a lot about food. They may collect cookbooks and prepare sumptuous meals for their friends and families — but they don't join in. Often the refusal to eat is paired with strict exercise regimens.

What Causes It?

Nobody knows why a particular person becomes anorexic. It is a psychological problem that has profound physical effects, including death. People with anorexia come to believe that their lives would be better if only they were thinner. These people tend to be perfectionists. The typical anorexic person is a good student involved in school and community activities. Many experts think that anorexia is part of an unconscious attempt to come to terms with unresolved conflicts or painful childhood experiences.