The Effect of Anorexia on Teen Girls

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What is Anorexia?

Anorexia Nervosa, or, ana, is and eating disorder where people starve themselves. Anorexia usually begins in teens, or those nearing puberty. People with anorexia have extreme weight loss, usually 15% below the person's normal body weight. Anorexics have many varieties of losing weight, some of which include intake of laxatives, over-exercising, and not eating.

Symtoms of Anorexia

Physical Symptoms

There are many symtoms of anorexia. Some are visible changes, like extreme weight loss. Others involve the inside of the body. The symptoms of anorexia are:

Avoiding eating

Denying hunger

Avoiding social occasions involving food

Food rituals to eat less, such as eating in secret, Eating foods in a certain order, excessive chewing, playing with food, and eating unnaturally small amounts of food

Dramatic weight loss

Refusing to gain weight

Denial

Obbsessing over diets and weight loss

Excessive weighing, and obbsessing over small changes in weight

Fear of gaining weight, and/or being fat

Distorted body image EX)Perception of being over-weight, when actually underweight

Basing their worthiness on appearence and body image

Obbsessing over excercise routine

Changes in Behavior

Anorexia can induce many behavioral changes as well.

Insomnia

Mood Swings

Depression

Intense feelings of lonliness

Sneaky behaviors involving food

Emotional outbursts

Fear of others opinions on their eating disorder

Withdraw from daily life

Causes of Anorexia

Possible Causes

Cultural Pressures - In many societies, Being extremely thin is important for women, and represents beauty, succsess, happiness, and self-control. Women are targeted with messages form the media that they must diet to meet this standard. But, this "ideal" body image is almost impossible to reach for most women, leaving them very dissatisfied with their body image.

Mental Issues - Psychological characteristics that can make a person more likely to develop anorexia include: Low self-esteem, feelings of being worthless, poor, or distorted body image, depression, difficulty expressing emotions, a need for control, obbsessing over perfection, physical or sexual abuse, a need to feel special or unique. People who are driven to lose weight are often determined in other areas of life, such as schoolwork, career, physical fitness, and/or exercise.

Family Enviroment - Some personal lifestyles can contribute to the development of eating disorders as well. Families with anorexic or bulimia can sometimes be: Overprotective, strict, and over-worrying. Other family issues that can lead to the devolopment of eating disorders are: Valueing body image and appearence too much, criticizing a child's weight or body shape, and being sexually or physically abused.

Genetic Factors - Anorexia occurs eight times more often in people who know, or have realatives with an eating disorder. But, scientists don't know what the inherited factor is yet.

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