Anorexia Nervosa and Weight Loss
What is it?
The preoccupation with weight and body shape leads adolescents to start a diet progressively more selective and avoiding high-calorie foods. It occurs also with other strategies for weight loss such as excessive exercise, vomiting, and strict fasting.
The people continue to feel fat, despite being extremely thin, eventually becoming a slave of the calories and rituals in relation to food. Lock up them self from the family and friends, getting more sad, angry, and anxious. Hardly a person with anorexia admits having problems and does not accept any help at all. The family sometimes takes to much time to realize that something is wrong.
Thus, people with anorexia from nervous origin may not receive medical treatment until they have become dangerously thin and malnourished.
Major situations family must consider
- Excessive exercise
- Weight loss in a short time
- Belief that one is fat, even though too thin
- Stopping the menstrual cycle (amenorrhea)
- Exaggerated interest in food
- Eating in secret and lie about the food.
- Depression, anxiety, and irritability
- Increasing isolation from family and friends
- Food and preoccupation with body weight become obsessions
Treatment
Treatment should be undertaken by a multidisciplinary team of psychiatrist, psychologist, pediatrician, and nutritionist, depending on the complex interaction of emotional and physiological problems in eating disorders.
The primary goal of treatment is recovery of body weight through eating habits with psychological support. In general, people need some help from psychotherapy in order to cope with their disease and the related emotional issues.
Individual psychotherapy, family counseling, or therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (psychotherapy that teaches patients to modify abnormal thoughts and behaviors) are generally very productive.
In the context of nervous anorexia there is no specific medication indicated. The use of antidepressants can be effective if there are persistent symptoms of depression after recovery of body weight.
Treatment of anorexia nervosa is often difficult and time consuming. The patient should remain in follow-up after improvement of symptoms to prevent relapse.
A good reason to start Weight loss
If you are more than 20 pounds overweight, losing the pounds is important for your health. Look at the recommended weight for someone of your size as a start.
However, because everyone’s bodies are different, because of fat and muscle ratio to body weight, you should really see your doctor if you feel like you need to lose weight. A doctor can confirm this or put your mind to rest by telling you that your weight is normal. This is the best way to make sure that you are being healthy.
Thanks for reading.
José Zózimo
