However, iron , calcium and riboflavin intakes were unacceptably low in the sample of girls. Girls ate more fruit and vegetables than boys, while boys ate more chips, milk, breakfast cereals and baked beans than girls. A, C, some B vitamins and fibre than those who did not smoke and also had the lowest intake of vegetables. Anorexia nervosa is the refusal to eat enough to maintain a normal body weight and an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat even though the individual is of normal weight or underweight. Sufferers are of the impression that they are fat and often see themselves as being fat even though they are obviously underweight.
Many anorexics exercise vigorously or use slimming pills to keep their weight as low as possible.
Along with a very low body weight, female anorexics often stop menstruating. This can have a serious effect on their ability to optimise the strength of their skeleton. Bulimia nervosa sufferers are also obsessed with the fear of gaining weight. There is a recurring pattern of binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting. The foods eaten tend to be high in carbohydrate and fat.