What is Anorexia?
Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness in adolescents. It is an eating disorder wherein a person has intense fear of gaining weight. It is more than just a problem with food, as it tends to make the person think or limit a lot about the food they take even if they are already skinny. It is a way of starving oneself to feel in control of life and to ease tension, anger and anxiety. Anorexia affects all people regardless of age, gender or ethnic background.
Facts on anorexia:
• Anorexia is an eating disorder that is linked with mental illness because one often struggles with the body image adopting unusual eating habits to change their appearance.
• This can be genetic or caused by psychological issues like coping skills, family trouble or social issues.
• In the U.S, around 24 million people are struggling with eating disorder and about 50 percent of these people suffer from depression.
• Anorexia has been rated as 12 times higher than any other cause of death for women aged 15 to 24 years.
• Unhealthy methods of eating to control weight gain such as smoking cigarettes, skipping meals, fasting and vomiting or taking laxatives have been found in more than 50 percent in teen girls and around 33 percent in teen boys.
• Nearly 69 percent of girls aged 10 to 18 years confirm that they are inspired by photographs of models and celebrities in magazines and desired to attain such body shape.
• Some of the physical signs of anorexia are thinning hair, dry, flaky skin and cracked or broken nails.
• Anorexia can cause anemia, lower blood pressure, shrunken organs and slow metabolism, which can lead to osteoporosis and irregular heartbeat.
• Eating disorder has also been associated with diseases like tumors and lesions in the brain.
• A person with anorexia might experience drop in the heart rate from 60-100 beats per minute to lower than 60 beats per minute.
References:
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-eating-disorders
Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness in adolescents. It is an eating disorder wherein a person has intense fear of gaining weight. It is more than just a problem with food, as it tends to make the person think or limit a lot about the food they take even if they are already skinny. It is a way of starving oneself to feel in control of life and to ease tension, anger and anxiety. Anorexia affects all people regardless of age, gender or ethnic background.
Facts on anorexia:
• Anorexia is an eating disorder that is linked with mental illness because one often struggles with the body image adopting unusual eating habits to change their appearance.
• This can be genetic or caused by psychological issues like coping skills, family trouble or social issues.
• In the U.S, around 24 million people are struggling with eating disorder and about 50 percent of these people suffer from depression.
• Anorexia has been rated as 12 times higher than any other cause of death for women aged 15 to 24 years.
• Unhealthy methods of eating to control weight gain such as smoking cigarettes, skipping meals, fasting and vomiting or taking laxatives have been found in more than 50 percent in teen girls and around 33 percent in teen boys.
• Nearly 69 percent of girls aged 10 to 18 years confirm that they are inspired by photographs of models and celebrities in magazines and desired to attain such body shape.
• Some of the physical signs of anorexia are thinning hair, dry, flaky skin and cracked or broken nails.
• Anorexia can cause anemia, lower blood pressure, shrunken organs and slow metabolism, which can lead to osteoporosis and irregular heartbeat.
• Eating disorder has also been associated with diseases like tumors and lesions in the brain.
• A person with anorexia might experience drop in the heart rate from 60-100 beats per minute to lower than 60 beats per minute.
References:
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-eating-disorders
Read more: Facts on Anorexia | Medindia http://www.medindia.net/health_statistics/health_facts/facts-on-anorexia.htm#ixzz3YOzgvVMm
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