How is anorexia treated?

Treatment will vary depending on the individual circumstances. There is no one single treatment that has proven to be effective in all cases.
Treatment aims to:
-restore the person to a healthy weight.
-restore healthy eating patterns.
-treat any physical complications or associated mental health problems.
-address thoughts, feelings and beliefs concerning food and body image.
-enlist family support.

What are the signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa?

-Weight loss of at least 15 per cent below the normal ideal body weight for a person of the same age and height.
-Cessation of periods or delayed development in puberty.
-Self-induced weight loss. Methods can include fasting, low food intake, excessive exercise, diuretic medicines (medicines that make you urinate more) laxatives, diet pills or vomiting. Sometimes people make themselves sick to lose weight. Others take excessive exercise.

What is anorexia nervosa?

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder affecting mainly girls or women, although boys or men can also suffer from it. It usually starts in the teenage years.
It is difficult to estimate how common it is but surveys suggest that up to 1 per cent of schoolgirls and female university students have anorexia nervosa. This may be an underestimate.

How is the disease characterised?

-Body weight is maintained at least 15 per cent below that expected for a person's height.

Anorexia Picture

Anorexia nervosa