Our society s obsession with these questions reveal a growing public awareness of anorexia nervosa and related eating disorders, which affect between 5 million and 8 million Americans. Unfortunately, awareness alone is not enough to eliminate or diminish the impact of these sometimes deadly disorders, experts say. Society still embraces thinness as a top priority. However, health professionals have come a long way in understanding eating disorders. Anorexia is usually identified in patients who have lost about 15 percent of their normal body weight for their height over a short time period.
Most anorexics claim they feel overweight even when emaciated.
Control issues Researchers have studied the causes of anorexia and related eating disorders extensively. A young person could be reacting against an overprotective family or reacting to rejection from peers, for example. According to Vivian Hanson Meehan, RN, president of the Highland Park, Ill.-based National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, people with eating disorders use food exactly as they use drugs and alcohol as a means of escape. By focusing on food or lack of food, you avoid life s problems. The causes of eating disorders differ for everyone, but they are often triggered by major life changes, Meehan said.