Are You at Risk of Suffering from Anorexia?

Self-imposed starvation. Like all eating disorders, it is considered a mental illness that can cause severe physical problems. The most worrisome thing about anorexia is that it's a killer. In fact, it has one of the highest mortality (death) rates of any mental illness.

You might not have realized that anorexia is a form of mental illness, but it is. Emotional issues are typically at the root of the disorder.

Most of the statistics on anorexia focus on young women, since they are the group most likely to develop the eating disorder. Based on a 1995 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports that young women between the ages of 15 and 24 who have anorexia have a 12 times greater chance of dying at their young age than friends of the same age. Many of the deaths attributed to anorexia are suicides, but the physical problems caused by the disorder-esophageal rupture, heart failure and stroke-can also be deadly.

WHO GETS ANOREXIA?

Although anorexia affects people of all ages, genders, and ethnic backgrounds, the people most likely to develop the eating disorder are young Caucasian women who are high academic achievers and have a goal-oriented family or personality. In 2003, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimated that in the United States, 1 to 2 percent of the female population and 0.1 to 0.2 percent of males suffer from anorexia.

Q & A

Question: My boyfriend lost a lot of weight while training for a gymnastics competition. The competition is over and he's still exercising constantly and eating very few calories. My mom says I'm worrying over nothing because she's never heard of a guy having anorexia. Is she right?

Answer: Even though males are less likely than females to get anorexia, it does happen. In fact, a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 2001, "Comparisons of Men With Full or Partial Eating Disorders, Men Without Eating Disorders, and Women With Eating Disorders in the Community," found that there is one male for every four females with anorexia. So if you suspect your boyfriend has a problem, don't Ignore It.

By middle school, young people are at that odd stage in life where they feel that they are neither children nor adults. By high school that feeling has intensified. They have become more independent but are still expected to live by their parents' rules.

Some teens resent their parents for placing too many restrictions on them. Others have families with serious emotional problems, such as abuse or addiction. Both groups recognize that one thing parents can't do is force their children to eat. Therefore, a number of teens may decide not to eat as a way of gaining a sense of control over their life.

Still other teenagers believe that they will never live up to their own or their parents' expectations about their appearance, popularity, or ability to succeed in sports, academics, or the arts. So they deny themselves the pleasure of eating as a means of punishment.

Some teens are afraid of growing up and taking complete responsibility for their lives. The prospect of increasing independence makes them feel out of control. Not eating helps them gain a sense of control, even though just the opposite is true. As anorexia progresses, it takes total control.

Fact Or Fiction?

Mothers are too old to have anorexia.

Fact: Although anorexia usually starts at a young age, it can appear at any age. Some people suffer with anorexia for decades. The NIH reports that women who develop and deal with anorexia at an early age have a better chance of complete recovery. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), the longer someone lives with anorexia, the greater the chance he or she may die from it.