What is Anorexia?
Anorexia (full name- anorexia nervosa) is an eating disorder characterized by a significant weight loss caused by excessive dieting. The cause of this illness in women, and now, an increasing number of men, is motivated by the strong desire to be thin and/or the fear of becoming obese. Anorexics see themselves as being fat. An anorexic’s actual weight has little to do with this eating disorder. Many anorexics do not even recognize they are underweight. They often report that they still "feel fat" when their weight is at 80 lbs. Some anorexics, even to the point of death, will show you on their bodies where they feel they need to lose weight. In their attempts to become even thinner, the anorexic will avoid food and taking in calories at all costs, which can result in a shut down of vital body organs (liver, pancreas and heart). An estimated 10 to 20% of diagnosed anorexics will eventually die from complications due to this disorder.
