Anorexia nervosa

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This Brazillian model shows it: Women that want to be seen as pretty, need to be extremely slim

The Judgement of Paris, by Peter Paul Rubens was painted in the 17th century. The painted women have much fuller forms

Anorexia nervosa is a mental health condition and an eating disorder. The short name for this condition is anorexia. People with anorexia think that they are fat, or desperately fear becoming overweight or fat. They try to lose weight by eating too little and doing too much exercise. They do not eat the amount of food their body needs, in an effort to avoid gaining weight. This causes them to stay at a weight that is not normal for their age and height.

[change] Diagnosis

Doctors use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to make a diagnosis and decide if a person has anorexia or not. Four signs of anorexia are listed in the manual. People do not have to show all four signs for the doctor to decide that they have anorexia.

Signs of anorexia

1. People with anorexia do not want to keep a body weight that is normal for their age and height.
2. People with anorexia think that they are fat. They are afraid of putting on more weight.
3. People with anorexia think that they are worth very little. They have low self-esteem because of the shape or weight of their body. Also, they do not think that low body weight is a problem.
4. Women with anorexia have not had three periods in a row (one period is sometimes called a menstrual cycle). Women with anorexia are not pregnant and have not had their periods stop permanently due to their age, which is called the menopause.

[change] Two different types of anorexia

• Restricting Type. People with this type of anorexia do not use vomiting or drugs to lose weight. They do not eat too much at one time (binge eating).
• Binge-Eating Type or Purging Type: The person uses vomiting, drugs or eats too much at one time.

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