Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder in which the person becomes so self-conscious about the weight and physical beauty that they get into losing weight by self-starvation. Anorexia makes people convinced by the idea that they are fat and “flawed” even if they are slim, which leads the patient to starve even if they are hungry. When people lose more than 15% of their normal weight by eating less and exercising much, health hazards are common.

People during puberty go through hormonal changes and developing a perfectionist mindset leads them to think of themselves as fat. In order to restrict the calorie intake, they not only eat less but tend to purge by vomiting or with laxatives, and start over-exercising. Anorexia can cause a number of problems like heart problems, anemia, kidney failure, menstrual problems and during pregnancy; it can cause cesarean delivery, miscarriage and delivering a baby with low weight.

Causes of anorexia nervosa
Genetics, environmental influences, and personality traits are the most common three causes of getting anorexia nervosa. The cultural or environmental causes are as follows:

• The norms of western culture define everything perfect related to thinness and the peer pressure can lead someone to be thinner, even if they are already on the thin side.
• Sexual or mental abuse during childhood or in adolescent years and mental trauma can lead to starving.
• Various career choices like modeling, dancing, ballet, and flight attendance allow only thin people, which can lead to a person being dominated by ambition to lose weight by over-exercising or eating less.

Psychological causes of anorexia nervosa

• Obsessive-compulsive personality disorders leading to a person sticking to a strict diet even when they are hungry, thereby no having food that the body requires.
• Perfectionism can make a person believe that they are not enough thin, which create anxiety to restrict eating fully.

Biological causes of anorexia nervosa

• Genetic traits of being perfectionist, health-conscious, and over-persevered can trigger anorexia.
• Irregular hormonal functions during puberty and pregnancy can also lead to mood swings and not having food despite being hungry is one of the traits

Symptoms of anorexia nervosa
The common symptoms of anorexia in females include being engrossed with any discussion or articles regarding food and losing weight, eating very less or nothing at all, over-exercising, self-induced puking, being non-social and uncomfortable in eating with others and consuming diet supplements and laxatives abnormally.

Other symptoms include losing too much weight, being emaciated, Amenorrhea, formation or lanugo, lethargy, depression, hair loss and feeling abnormally cold. Swollen joints, weak muscles, brittle nails, memory loss, feeling faint, bloating, dry yellow or blotchy skin, constipation are other symptoms.

Treatments for anorexia nervosa
The medical treatment of anorexia nervosa starts by diagnosing whether the patient has Amenorrhea, irregular heartbeat, malnutrition and imbalance of electrolytes and other health issues from eating disorders.

After diagnosis, restoring weight and following a perfectly supervised meal plan is prescribed to the patient while enlightening them about the benefits of healthy eating.

There are also psychological therapies where the underlying issues are addressed for eating disorders. The counselor or doctor helps the patient overcome the trauma or mental disorders like depression, anxiety, and confusion. The patient learns coping skills in a healthy way and to deal with certain emotions that can trigger to anorexia nervosa.