Without treatment, 20% of people with anorexia die.
anorexia nervosa
is an eating disorder that causes people to not consume the right amount of calories every day. Restrict the amount of calories they consume to work toward a better self-describing body image. There is anxiety about gaining weight with those suffering from anorexia and these fears translate into their eating habits.It kills more than 1000 women in the United States, but even men can be affected by this disorder that destroys the human body from the inside out. For every 9 women suffering from anorexia nervosa, there will be at least 1 man who is limiting his caloric intake due to problems with his own image. In practical terms, this represents only 0.1% of the total male population, but it is still a serious enough disorder that it can also be fatal. While mortality rates for men are generally not monitored, if statistics are true across the board, about 100 men die each year from this eating disorder.
Repeated surveys and research have shown that girls as young as 6 are concerned about what their bodies look like. They are specifically concerned about how much fat is in their bodies and what their weight is. These are also the two specific areas of focus that tend to be present in people suffering from anorexia nervosa. This is extremely problematic because not only have eating disorders increased annually since 1950, but anorexia nervosa, in particular, has the highest death rates than any other psychiatric disorder ever diagnosed.
Data for anorexia nervosa have been traced since 1930 and, in every decade, girls aged 15 to 19 have seen increases in the number of diagnosed cases of this eating disorder. Girls of Caucasian origin are the most susceptible to the influences of anorexic thought patterns and it is believed that part of the problem is due to advertising and celebrity images that are widely distributed. These images celebrate a certain image and girls want to replicate the image because they see it as popular. Did you know that 80% of girls are afraid of getting fat by the time they turn 10? Even in the third degree, the tendencies of anorexia nervosa are shown because 40% of girls at that level have an active desire to be thinner.
More than half of all girls under 18 use unhealthy diet tactics, such as using laxatives or purges, to better manage their weight. Those who see themselves overweight or more likely to engage in these dangerous weight management tactics. About 1 in 10 people with this eating disorder will seek some form of treatment to help them with their problem. Part of the problem is the fact that about 12% of the general population believe that eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa are actually attributed to vanity.
When someone needs help and the person they ask for help thinks there is no real mental disorder, the end result can be much more harmful than just treating anorexic thoughts. How can we stop anorexia nervosa? A good starting point would be within the media influences that everyone is exposed to on a daily basis. Nearly 70% of girls 18 and younger say their ideal body image is influenced by images they see on the Internet, in magazines or in pictures of celebrities. They start working to achieve this body shape, they receive praise for the first few pounds they lose, and this reinforces the need to lose weight.
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