The Truth about Eating Disorders
Spreading compassion and awareness in Atlantic Canada about one of today's most prevalent and misunderstood illnesses.
Anorexia Nervosa
What is Anorexia?
Anorexia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.

There are two behavioural forms of anorexia - restricting type and binge/purging type.
- Restricting type describes individuals who have lost or controlled their weight through limiting caloric intake (possibly also engaging in excessive exercise).
- ​Binge/purging type describes individuals who also may limit their food intake, as well as engaging in binge eating and/or purging (self-induced vomiting, use of diuretics/laxatives or excessive exercise) to reduce or control their weight.
**Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses.

What are the signs/symptoms?
- ​Resistance to maintain healthy bodyweight at or above the minimum weight for his/her height
- Intense fear of gaining weight/becoming "fat"
- Preoccupation with calories/fat content of food, visible food restriction/self-starvation
- Dramatic weight loss
- Refusal to eat certain foods, progressing to restrictions against whole categories of foods (i.e. no carbs)
- Eating strange combinations of foods and/or condiments (also known as "food concocting").
- Consistant excuses to avoid mealtimes and/or eating in front of others (i.e. my stomach hurts, already ate)
- Inaccurate perception of bodyweight, shape or size.
- Isolation and withdrawal from friends and previously enjoyed activities
- Development of food rituals (i.e. eating foods in certain orders, rearranging food on a plate, cutting into tiny pieces)
- Preoccupation with reading recipe books/magazines, cooking for others (not partaking themselves), and/or looking at pictures of food.
- ​Development of insomnia/poor sleep patterns.
- Growth of lanugo (a fine layer of downy hair all over the body, in an attempt to insulate itself after excessive fat loss).
- Constantly feeling cold.
Physical Dangers/Health Consequences
The physical consequences of self-starvation can be very damaging, as it causes the body to slow down all of its' processes to conserve energy. This can result in several debilitating symptoms:

- Amenorrhea (loss of menstrual periods in females)
- Dry skin and hair, as well as thinning and loss of hair.
- Fainting, fatigue and overall weakness.
- Severe dehydration (this can result in kidney failure).
- Osteoporosis (dry, brittle bones).
- Abnormally low heart rate and blood pressure (indicating deterioration of the heart muscle). This increases the risk of heart failure.
- Infertility.
- Multiorgan failure.
