Anorexia Nervosa

A severe emotional disorder of people who intentionally starve themselves into an emaciated state yet remain convinced that they are overweight. It is further characterized by the refusal to stay at even the minimum body weight considered normal for the person’s age and height. Other symptoms of anorexia nervosa include an intense fear of weight gain and distorted body image. Two types of anorexia nervosa exist, including restricting type and binge-eating/purging type. Restricting type is characterized by dieting, fasting or excessive exercise while binge-eating/purging type is characterized by self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, enemas or diruetics. Binge eating may or may not occur and purging is common even after small amounts of food have been eaten.