Many people worry about gaining too much weight. But in some people the worry becomes obsessive, resulting in a condition called anorexia nervosa. Anorexia ...AnorexiaNervosaMedicallyreviewedbyTimothyJ.Legg,Ph.D.,CRNP—WrittenbyCarmellaWint—UpdatedonAugust4,2017SymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentOutlookPreventionWhatIsAnorexiaNervosa?Manypeopleworryaboutgainingtoomuchweight.Butinsomepeopletheworrybecomesobsessive,resultinginaconditioncalledanorexianervosa.Anorexianervosaisaneatingdisorderthatcanresultinsevereweightloss.Apersonwithanorexiaispreoccupiedwithcalorieintakeandweight.Peoplewithanorexianervosaeatanextremelylowcaloriedietandhaveanexcessivefearofgainingweight.Theyoftenfeelbetteraboutthemselveswhentheyloseweight.Theymayalsoexerciseexcessively.Anorexiaismostcommonlydiagnosedinadolescentwomen,butit’sbeendiagnosedinolderandyoungerwomenandinmen.RecognizingtheSymptomsofAnorexiaNervosaThosewithanorexianervosaloseweightandmaintaintheirextremelylowweightindifferentways.Whilesomeputsevererestrictionsontheircalorieintake,othersexerciseexcessively.Someemployabingeandpurgemethodsimilartothatusedbythosewithbulimia.Othersuselaxatives,vomiting,ordiureticstoridthemselvesofcalories.Ifyouhaveanorexianervosa,yoursymptomsmayinclude:inabilitytomaintainanormalweightfatigueinsomniaskinthatisyelloworblotchyandcoveredwithsoft,finehairshairthinningorfallingoutconstipationmorethanthreecycleswithoutaperioddryskinlowbloodpressureYoumayalsonoticebehaviorssuchas:excessiveexercisepushingfoodaroundtheplateinsteadofeatingit,orcuttingfoodintosmallpiecesirritabilitywithdrawalfromsocialactivitiesdepressedmoodhungerdenialuseofdiuretics,laxatives,ordietpillsWhatCausesAnorexiaNervosa?Theexactcauseofanorexianervosaisn’tknown.Peoplewhodevelopanorexiamayhaveanegativebodyimage.Theymaybefocusedonbeing“perfect.”Theymaybelookingforwaystocontroltheirlives.Otherfactorslikebiology,environment,andpsychologyarebelievedtoplayarole.BiologyGeneticsandhormonesmighthaveaneffectonthedevelopmentofanorexianervosa.Someevide