Anorexia Nervosa

What are the signs of Anorexia Nervosa?

If you are suffering from anorexia nervosa, you find that you:

? Worry more and more about your weight
? Eat less and less
? Exercise more and more, to burn off calories
? Can’t stop losing weight, even when you are well below a safe weight for your age and height
? Smoke more or chew gum to keep your weight down height
? Lose interest in sex
? In girls or women - monthly menstrual periods become irregular or stop.
? In men or boys - erections and wet dreams stop, testicles shrink.

When does it start?

? Eating disorders usually start in the teenage years and affects around:
? 1 fifteen-year-old girl in every 150
? 1 fifteen-year-old boy in every 1000. It can also start in childhood or in later life.

What happens?

? You take in very few calories every day. You eat “healthily” - fruit, vegetables and salads - but they don’t give your body enough energy.
? You may also exercise; use slimming pills, or smokes more to keep your weight down.
? You don’t want to eat yourself, but you buy food and cook for other people.
? You still get as hungry as ever, in fact you can’t stop thinking about food.
? You become more afraid of putting on weight, and more determined to keep your weight well below normal.
? Your family may be the first to notice your thinness and weight loss.
? You may find yourself lying to other people about the amount you are eating and how much weight you are losing.

There is more information on this site and other resorces about eating disorders:

* Causes of eating disorders
* Detecting the signs
* Bulimia Nervosa
* Eating disorders self help
* Overeating and Binge Eating