Anorexia Nervosa the not eating disorder

Anorexia Nervosa is condition of acute weight loss and a BMI of less than 18.5 which is caused by an individual imposing severe dietary restrictions and excessive exercise for wanting to be thin. The person does not perceive any weight loss or change in size as adequate and continues to think of themselves as fat, which is like a distorted reality. It has the second highest mortality rate in psychiatric disorders and relapse rates are common. The prolonged malnutrition leads to anemia, dizziness, fatigue, low mood, brittle bones, muscle depletion, hair loss, dry skin, blurry vision and ultimately damage to all organ systems of the body.

The causes of Anorexia Nervosa can be genetic heritability the estimate of which ranges from 0.41 to 0.74. Personality traits of  perfectionism, obsessionality, reward dependence, negative affectivity, and neuroticism also contribute to it. A self-concept dependent on body image combined with a low self-esteem is also indicated. Neurobiologically there appears to be a dysfunction of the reward circuit  of reward processing and reward learning abnormalities. Cognitive impairments such as set-shifting difficulties and poor central coherence may be related.

Dieting is the most common precipitating factor for anorexia and the lack of insight into the severity of the disease in patients makes it difficult to treat. This often leads to involuntary treatment and admission of patient to a hospital however relapse rates may be high. Psychotherapy in the form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E) and Family therapy have been found to be the effective line of treatment.