Anorexia causes low levels of reproductive hormones, changes in thyroid hormones, and increased levels of the stress hormones. Children and adolescents with anorexia may also experience retarded growth due to reduced levels of growth hormone. Women who become pregnant before regaining normal weight face a poor reproductive future, with low birth weights, frequent miscarriages, and a high rate of children with birth defects. The longer the eating disorder persists the more likely the bone loss will be permanent. People with severe anorexia may suffer nerve damage and experience seizures, disordered thinking, loss of feeling, or other nerve problems in the hands or feet.
Anemia is a common result of anorexia and starvation.
A particularly serious blood problem is pernicious anemia, which can be caused by severely low levels of vitamin B 12 . If anorexia becomes extreme, the bone marrow dramatically reduces its production of blood cells, a life-threatening condition called pancytopenia. Bloating and constipation are both very common problems in people with anorexia. Complications in Diabetic Adolescents Eating disorders are very serious in young people with type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is a danger in anyone with anorexia, but it is a particularly dangerous risk in those with diabetes.