A History Of Anorexia Nervosa

Many people are unaware of the background of eating disorders. Women are more likely than men to develop an eating disorder and they usually develop in childhood before the age of 20 (Ross-Flanigan 1). Women as well as men can develop an eating disorder; it is just more likely for a woman to develop one. Eating disorders are usually developed in adolescent or childhood years when a person is influenced the most. Also “Eating disorders are psychological conditions that involve overeating, voluntary starvation, or both. Anorexia nervosa, anorexic bulimia, and binge eating are the most well-known types of eating disorders” (Ross-Flanigan 1). Many people assume that an eating disorder is when a person staves themselves; they do not realize that it can involve overeating as well. Some eating disorders also involve purging, but not all. People with an eating disorder fear gaining weight even when they are severely underweight. They do not lack an appetite (Ross-Flanigan 1). These people are

Eating disorders are diseases in which people have an unhealthy relationship with their food, and negative image reflecting how their body looks, such as, the fear of gaining weight. This type of body dysmorphia can lead to damaging eating habits, such as; starvation, purging, and even binging. Furthermore, there are numerous eating disorders recognized today, the most common being binge disorder, causing the affected person to eat far too much and experience pain, discomfort, and irritable bowel symptoms, bulimia which causes the affected person to purge their food through vomiting, and one of the most common eating disorders -- anorexia nervosa. (Eating Disorders, 2008) Many of these disorders can be treated in multiple ways, the most common way is through counselling with a social worker, the social worker helps develop a treatment plan for the client and aids them in their recovery.

The study conducted had a sample size of 90 Polish women with AN and the control group was 120 females without any signs of an eating disorder. These females were studied to identify any substantial differences in behavior. The result of the study was that females with AN exhibited less control over cognitive function and emotional behavior. The conclusion reached was that being able to identify the symptoms typical of an eating disorder in females could help in improving treatments and could also prevent any dangerous habits developed by those with

Anorexia was introduced into the world around 138 year ago. An esteemed English physician named Sir William Withey Gull introduced it at the Clinical Society of London. The disorder reached public awareness around the 1970’s. It was very popular in the upper class. There are two major types of anorexia. The restriction type and binge eating/purging type. The restriction type is when the person restricts their food intake on their own and does not engage in the other type. The other type, binge eating/purging, is when the person self-induces

These acts of exclusion are classified as the earliest known methods of bulimia. Thorough studies based on the illnesses were not conducted until 1689, when the first case of anorexia supposedly appeared. The case was disregarded, as religion in that time period promoted fasting over a course of days. Soon after, however, anyone found to be abstaining from nourishment was convicted of witchcraft and burned. Those drastic acts hindered the spread of anorexia, but only for a short period of time. Between the years 1970-1980, anorexia and other eating disorders spread like a wild fire across America and, as a result, the world (Cowley).

Eating disorders are classified by persistent disturbances in eating behavior, according to the DSM-5 (APA, 2013; Hooley et al., 2017). One of the most prevalent eating disorders is anorexia nervosa, which literally means “lack of appetite induced by nervousness,” although the disorder may not necessarily include a lack of appetite, but instead the restriction of food due to an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat (Hooley et al., 2017). Anorexia nervosa is also characterized by a significantly low body weight as well as a disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced (APA, 2013). Two subtypes of anorexia nervosa exist, the restricting type and binge-eating/purging type. These describe two different ways

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that affects the psyche by making the afflicted starve themselves because they are afraid of weight gain and have a false view of self image. Anorexics abuse the uses of exercise, laxatives, diuretics, drugs, and enemas to lose more weight. Anorexia is commonly adapted in teenagers but can start as early as age seven and as late as the forties. One percent of Americans suffer from anorexia nervosa and women are more affect than men are. "Individuals with anorexia are on an irrational, unrelenting quest to lose weight, and no matter how much they lose and how much their health is compromised, they want to lose more weight (Tish Davidson, Anorexia Nervosa)." The health factors for being anorexic is long

There are varieties of eating disorders. The main ones are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. In one sample, the prevalence was as high as 80 % for patients diagnosed with restrictive anorexia nervosa, 43 % in anorexia nervosa binge-eating/purging subtype, 39. % in bulimia nervosa, and 32 % in eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS). I am currently acquainted with a friend who has been diagnosed with, and is currently in treatment for, Anorexia Nervosa, also known as Anorexia. Anorexia is the most dangerous eating disorder because it can be unseen, it is very unhealthy, and the effect it has on the victim’s life is devastating.

According to Webster the definition of an “Eating Disorder” is “Any of several psychological disorders (as anorexia nervosa or bulimia) characterized by serious disturbances of eating behavior.” Anorexia Nervosa is one of the three main eating disorders. It has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses(ANAD). Anorexia Nervosa is defined as a loss of appetite for food or refusing food in order to lose weight. Out of all of the psychiatric disorders Anorexia Nervosa is the only one that has a physical symptom as one of the diagnostic criteria(Schellenberg). Bulimia Nervosa is the second of the three main eating disorders. 1% of women develop bulimia(Eating). Bulimia is known as an individual consuming a vast amount of food and then disposing of it through self-induced vomiting, the use of diuretics, or excessive exercising. The third main eating disorder is Binge Eating Disorder. Individuals who develop this disorder feel out of control while they are eating and tend to eat very large amounts. Binge eating is known

Eating disorders are characterized by a high preoccupation with weight and an intense dissatisfaction with one’s body image (Institute of Psychiatry, 2015). Some of the most common Eating Disorders (EDs) include Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Disorder, however it is important to note that not everyone fits neatly into any of these categories and could display symptoms and behaviors interchangeably. People who suffer from Anorexia Nervosa can be characterized as having very low body weight and being involved in various weight loss activities including being highly food-restrictive and possibly over-exercising (Mascolo et al., 2012). Anorexia also has the highest mortality rate among all the mental illnesses, which includes

In addition to the history of anorexia nervosa, the causes of this eating disorder play a major role in their mentality. This is important to examine because people with anorexia are often using food and eating as a way to gain control when parts of their lives are stressful or overwhelming. According to Eating Disorders: An Encyclopedia of Causes, Treatment, and Prevention, “The causes of eating disorders are multifaceted and usually include a combination of psychological, familial, sociocultural, and biological or genetic factors rather than a sole determinant of the disorder. “(103). When it comes to the psychological causes of anorexia many individuals often have low self-worth, low self-esteem, and strive for perfectionism. Having a low

AN (Anorexia Nervosa) is the most visible eating disorder, is a serious psychiatric illness characterized by an inability to maintain a normal healthy body weight or, in individuals who are still growing, despite increasing weight loss and frank emancipation, individuals with AN strive for additional weight loss, see themselves as fat even when they are severely underweight, and often engaged in unhealthy weight loss behaviors (e.g. purging, dieting, excessive exercise, and fasting). (Bulk, Trace, Kleiman and Mazzeo, 2014). AN not only has harmful physical side effects but has psychological impacts as well. According to Serpell, Treasure, Teasdale and Sullivan (1998), one of the most interesting features of anorexia nervosa which sets it apart from many other conditions is highly valued in nature of anorexic symptoms.

illness. In the case of anorexia, however, the majority of the cases are developed during

Anorexia might have begun during the Hellenistic era when religious fasting was introduced to the people. Some of the well known historical figure women, who are believed to also have had this disorder are Mary queen of Scots and Catherine of Siena. Fasting was first practiced for religious purposes by women to maintain their purity. In the 13th century, the Catholic Church was the one that experienced many women starving themselves so that they can be claimed saints. In the case of Catherine Siena in the 14th century, the church began to worry over her extreme starvation. This made the church ask her to pray to God so that she would be able to eat again. In 1689, anorexia was first used medically by the physician Richard Morton. One of the patients of Richard who had this disorder was an 18 year old girl who died 3 months later from starvation (Friedman, 1984, p.702). One of the first male patients was Noah Webster who was a student at Yale College. His reason for not eating was because he thought that by eating his mind would be dulled. In the 19th century, is when anorexia was proclaimed as a medical condition. William Gull published a paper which detailed about the disorder and how it should be treated.

     Another widespread misconception about the disease of anorexia is that it is a new disease. Actually, doctors say that anorexia has its roots centuries ago. Through different time periods, people have fasted for a number of reasons, they say. People fasted in Biblical times to pay reverence to God or just to exercise self-discipline. Anorexia has been around almost as long as man.(Deth and Vandereycken, 1990)