Health Tourism News

Staying in shape is one of the laws of attraction and a fit body is a symbol of beauty.  But the problem arises when there is no line drawn between being slim and getting abnormally thin.  Blame it on the fashion industry or peer pressure, the eating disorder of anorexia nervosa is on a rise and is taking toll of many young lives each year. 

What is anorexia?
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where people persistently starve themselves with the endless need to grow slimmer.  While the person inflicted with anorexia may seem all bones to you, the patient still finds himself/herself fat and has the constant urge to lose weight. In extreme cases, the person starves to death. Anorexia generally surfaces among the young, especially those in their teens.  But even people over 30 can continue to live with the disorder.  The disorder gets dangerous with age since the body lacks the capacity to sustain itself, mostly resulting in death of the person.

Causes?
•    Given the decreasing size of the body among beauty queens and movie stars, its obvious that young girls and boys who set them as role models take measures to lose weight.  In some cases, this takes dangerous overtones and the person eventually becomes anorexic.
•    The ability to distinguish between feelings of hunger and fullness is learnt when very young.   Faulty upbringing could be a reason for anorexia, where the person doesn’t develop hunger pangs in accordance to age and bodily needs.
•    Anorexia is partly hereditary, in such cases it is easier to help the person put on weight.
•    Children with exaggerated interest in the body shape are likely to fall prey to anorexia.

Anorexia is difficult to be treated since it is not just a physical ailment, but a disease of the mind.  Just putting the patient into medication is of no use.  Any treatment with regard to anorexia would be successful only when the patient is psychologically prepared to gain weight.

The most dangerous situation is where neither the anorexic patient nor the family realizes that it is anorexia.  That’s the bad news.  But the good news is that anorexia can be treated and with proper care, the patient can recover from the illness well within 2 months from the beginning of the treatment.