* Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder and, more importantly, a psychological disorder.
* The cause of anorexia has not been definitively established, but self-esteem and self-image issues, societal pressures, and genetic factors likely each play a role.
* Anorexia affects females far more often than males and is most common in adolescent females.
* Anorexia tends to affect the middle and upper socioeconomic classes and Caucasians more than less advantaged classes and ethnic minorities in the United States.
* The disorder affects about 1% of adolescent girls in the U.S.
* People with anorexia tend to show compulsive behaviors, may become obsessed with food, and often show behaviors consistent with other addictions in their efforts to overly control their food intake and weight.
» Read more: Anorexia Nervosa At A Glance

1. National Eating Disorders Association
603 Stewart Street, Suite 803
Seattle, WA 98101
1-800-931-2237
206-382-3587

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

2. National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, HHS

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml

3. National Institute of Health
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892

http://www.nih.gov

» Read more: Where can a person get help for anorexia nervosa?

Given the complexity of anorexia and how many people with this illness continue to suffer from it despite receiving treatment, researchers are seeking to better understand how this illness develops and how it is most effectively treated. For example, as individuals with anorexia tend to have low levels of cortisol in their blood, and behaviors like dieting and exercise tend to increase cortisol levels, giving anorexia sufferers cortisol supplements is being explored with some success.
» Read more: The future of anorexia

Anorexia is among the psychiatric conditions that have the highest mortality rate, with an estimated 6% of anorexia victims dying from complications of the disease. The most common causes of death in people with anorexia are medical complications of the condition, including cardiac arrest and electrolyte imbalances. Suicide is also a cause of death in people with anorexia. In the absence of any coexisting personality disorder, younger individuals with anorexia tend to do better over time than their older counterparts.
» Read more: What is the prognosis (outcome) of anorexia?

Anorexia may be treated in an outpatient setting or hospitalization may be necessary. For an individual with severe weight loss that has impaired organ function, hospital treatment must initially focus on correction of malnutrition, and intravenous feeding or tube feeding that goes past the mouth may be required. A gain of between 1 to 3 pounds per week is a safe and attainable goal when malnutrition must be corrected. Sometimes weight gain is achieved using schedules for eating, decreased physical activity, and increased social activity, either on an inpatient or outpatient basis.
» Read more: How is anorexia treated?