This is frequently sublimated through cooking for others or hiding food in their personal space which they will not eat. Like all eating disorders, it tends to occur in pre or post puberty, but can develop at any life change. Anorexia nervosa predominately affects adolescent girls, although it can also occur in men and older women. This obsessive dieting behavior reflects a great deal of today's societal pressure to be thin, which is seen in advertising and the media. Others especially at risk for eating disorders include athletes, actors, and models for whom thinness has become a professional requirement.
Conservative estimates suggest that one-half to one percent of females in the U.S. develop anorexia.
Because more than 90 percent of all those who are affected are adolescent and young women, the disorder can be characterized as primarily a women's illness. People with anorexia usually lose weight by reducing their total food intake and exercising excessively. Many persons with anorexia nervosa restrict their intake to 1,000 calories a day or less. Most avoid fattening, high-calorie foods and eliminate red meat or meat altogether. The diet of persons with anorexia may consist almost completely of low-calorie vegetables like lettuce and carrots or popcorn.