Anorexia and Signs of the Eating Disorder

Photo by Ashley Alonzo    Pictured: Todd DeBato and Ada Castro

Anorexia has been a topic discussed from the dark times of middle school to the glory days of high school, and it is still being discussed once we step on to college campuses.                 

Although it is easy to see when an individual is losing weight or if a male or female is just naturally thin, we often could not point out if an individual is not eating. Most of the time, on campus, we just assume someone is not treating his or her body right. Or, many do not seem to notice something is wrong.

Knowing what to look for when there is a concern for a friend who may be anorexic is extremely important. According to womenshealth.gov, 85-95 percent of people who become anorexic are female. Many people who have this eating disorder have a fear that they were once overweight or that they will become overweight. This has many causes, but the main ones are culture-related, stressful situations or a person’s genes and hormones in their brain.

Here are five things to look for when trying to decide if a friend may be anorexic:

1. Do they say “I’m not hungry” when it comes dinnertime?
2. Do they move food around their plate instead of actually eating it?
3. Have you seen them take any diet pills or water pills to pass more bowel movements?
4. Do they exercise in lengthy time amounts and in strange conditions? Example: bad weather or multiple times a day.
5. Do they only eat certain foods?

Anorexia is a huge concern especially in the society we currently live in. Women are “supposed to be thin” in the United States -- which is an extremely wicked way to be known by other countries and cultures.

The way we treat others is crucial to the way others see themselves. Calling others “fat” or even “too thin” is damaging to self-esteem and can seriously harm the mind, body and overall life of a person. 

Now that we have discussed what to look for when determining if a person is suffering from anorexia and the harms that it can do to a person, we can support one another here on campus and possibly be a supporter for a person who needs to be healthy again.

Article Source: http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/anorexia-nervosa.html