Anorexia simply means "loss of appetite". It is a disorder normally characterized by a disturbed sense of body image, a morbid fear of obesity, a refusal to maintain a minimally normal body weight, and, in women, amenorrhea (absence of menstrual periods). It is a dangerous, life-threatening, eating disorder in which a person intentionally deprives themselves of food and can literally starve to death in an attempt to be what they consider "thin".

The disorder is a complex combination of physical, psychological, and social factors not clearly understood by the medical and psychological communities. The causes of anorexia have been linked to genetics, personality traits, environments, stressors, and biochemical functions.

Because the root causes of anorexia are inconclusive, it is impossible to provide a concise formula for preventing anorexia; however, there are several steps you can take to ensure you are less likely to develop the disorder:

Anorexia nervosa (say “an-uh-RECK-see-uh nur-VOH-suh”) is a type of eating disorder. People who have anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight. They severely limit the amount of food they eat and can become dangerously thin. Anorexia affects both the body and the mind. It may start as dieting, but it gets out of control. You think about food, dieting, and weight all the time. You have a distorted body image .

If your doctor thinks that you may have an eating disorder, he or she will compare your weight with the expected weight for someone of your height and age. He or she will also check your heart, lungs, blood pressure, skin, and hair to look for problems caused by not eating enough. You may also have blood tests or X-rays. Your doctor may ask questions about how you feel. It is common for a treatable mental health problem such as depression or anxiety to play a part in an eating disorder.

It can be very scary to realize that someone you care about has an eating disorder. If you think a friend or loved one has anorexia, you can help. Tell someone who can make a difference—like a parent, teacher, counselor, or doctor. A person with anorexia may insist that she does not need help, but she does. The sooner she gets treatment, the sooner she will be healthy again.

Fortunately, the answer is "yes." Physicians, mental health professionals, registered dietitians, and other health professionals, working in concert, have developed several successful treatments for Anorexia. However, these treatments are often complicated by the aforementioned medical and psychological factors associated with Anorexia.

Someone with anorexia may also have a distorted body image, shown by thinking she or he is fat, wearing baggy clothes, weighing her or himself many times a day, and fearing weight gain. Anorexia can also cause someone to not act like her or himself. She or he may talk about weight and food all the time, not eat in front of others, be moody or sad, or not want to go out with friends.

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Please consult your physician immediately for assistance if you respond positively to two or more of these questions, or if you feel you may have any kind of disordered eating pattern:

First, let the anorexic know you care about her, but you are concerned about her health. Second, it is important to encourage the anorexic to seek professional help. It is likely the anorexic will resist initial offers of assistance, but you must continue your efforts without appearing to be judgmental. You may wish to provide the anorexic with a list of therapists, organizations, support groups, or resource materials that specialize in eating disorders.

People with anorexia nervosa use exercise as a key way to keep their weight very low. It also helps decrease guilt that may occur with eating. Like dieting, excessive exercising is used as a means of self-control and avoiding painful emotional issues and may take time away from interacting with other people.For a person who does not eat enough, exercising keeps the body in a state of deprivation.

Anorexia nervosa can lead to isolation in a number of ways. Because so much attention is focused on issues with eating and weight, the person has much less time for relationships. When interacting with others, discussions tend to focus on eating and weight. In addition, since many social gatherings center on food, people with anorexia nervosa often get caught up in their food issues when with others rather than relating with the people around them.

With anorexia, your body doesn't get the energy from foods that it needs, so it slows down. Look at the picture below to find out how anorexia affects your health.

It depends. When a woman has active anorexia, meaning she currently has anorexia, she does not get her period and usually does not ovulate. This makes it hard to get pregnant. Women who have recovered from anorexia and are at a healthy weight have a better chance of getting pregnant. If you're having a hard time getting pregnant, see your doctor.

Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia are characterized by an overvalued drive for thinness and a disturbance in eating behavior. The main difference between diagnoses is that anorexia nervosa is a syndrome of self-starvation involving significant weight loss of 15 percent or more of ideal body weight, whereas patient with bulimia nervosa are, by definition, at normal weight or above.

Anorexia patients are typically illustrated by their denial to retain a body weight, which is consistent with their build, age and height. They are obsessed with gaining a “perfect body” and they are never satisfied with how thin they are. To achieve this goal, they will undergo severe methods such as extreme exercising or voluntary starvation. The individual typically experiences a strong fear of gaining weight or becoming fat.

People who have been sexually abused are more vulnerable to developing anorexia nervosa. Preoccupation with food and weight can move the focus away from the abuse and the accompanying painful feelings. Control over eating and weight may replace the lack of control experienced during abuse. Anorexia nervosa may also be a way to make one's body less attractive to possible abusers.