Anorexia Nervosa Essays (2004 words) - Eating Disorders,

Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia Nervosa is a very serious disease that is plaguing many young people in our society. This is something that is becoming more and more prevalent. It is something that should not be taken lightly. I have chosen to do my Science report on this topic, because it is something intriguing and it is found in many teens. This is a topic that is too foreign to many people and they need to be educated on the subject. I hope to help that in anyway I can. In the following paragraphs I will discuss the warning signs of anorexia, the people affected by the disease, the disease itself, and certain types of treatments for the disorder. Firstly, I would like to discuss the warning signs of an eating disorder. The physical symptoms are much easier to identify, so I will start with them. The first and most obvious sign is extreme weight loss, which you can easily identify. To try and conceal this the anorexic will start to wear baggy clothing in an attempt to conceal the weight loss. An anorexic will also make every attempt to avoid a situation where food or meals are served. Times like this will be very uncomfortable to them, because it leaves them vulnerable to questions about their eating habits. This is something they want to avoid at all costs. Another part of avoiding meals is to prepare big meals for groups of people and eat very little. The anorexic will give excuses like, "I'm to tired to eat," or, "No, that's okay you should just eat. I prepared it for you." This let's them off the hook in their own mind. They make it look as they are too tired after all the hard work they have put in and usually nobody draws attention to it. An anorexic may also start to lose hair on their head or begin to grow finer hair on the body. This is one sign that you will want to look for if you have the opportunity. It will be a very accurate sign of an eating disorder. Also, a person with an eating disorder will show different types of emotional and mental symptoms. A few of the more obvious symptoms are depression, being grouchy, temperamental, and withdrawal. These are the most common signs of a person with anorexia. However, you must be very careful when assuming that a person has an eating disorder. It should not be confused with mood swings caused by trouble with friends or at home. These symptoms are usually with the person most of the time, not just periodically. They are usually accompanied by some of the physical signs. There are a few other signs that an anorexic person may have but are hard to identify with such as fear of gaining weight and perfectionist tendencies. These are harder to identify because they can be confused with other feelings or easily concealed. You should not confuse goal setting and high aspirations with perfectionist tendencies and if the person exercises daily it does not mean they are afraid of weight gain. By using common sense you can easily identify if a person has signs that are serious. That is the time you need to take action. In closing, there are many ways to identify an eating disorder, but you must do it with carefulness and thinking. Next, I will talk about the people that are most commonly affected by anorexia and who is most likely to get it. So far, I have talked about the different warning signs that you will find in anorexia. Now I will talk about what type of people to look for it in and it will give you a better idea of a person that could have it. The first thing I would like to make clear, is that any person can have an eating disorder. Statistics show different groups with anorexia, but the truth is that anyone can develop anorexia. After surveys, doctors have found that the age group where you will most commonly find anorexic people is between the ages of 13 to 21. Doctor's believe that these people are more at risk because of being exposed to people that are very judgmental and analyze them. This makes the person feel that they have to stay a certain way for the people around them. In other words, these people are afraid of being rejected by their peers for being too fat. The age groups can vary from as young as