It is common for you to have little or no appetite sometimes, it might be because you are stressing over something or just don’t feel well. However, it becomes a health concern when you start starving yourself and refuse to eat because that endangers your life holistically.
Starvation is not the only indicator that someone is headed for anorexia, but it might be considered a start if happens consistently.
The National Institute of Mental Health describes anorexia nervosa as a severe dietary disorder where individuals avoid or severely restrict food. “They also may weigh themselves repeatedly. Even when dangerously underweight, they may see themselves as overweight.”
Health publications state the physical, behavioural and emotional symptoms that are found in people with anorexia, which we must be on the lookout for because they are not always obvious.
The Cleveland Clinic states the following physical signs:
- Significant weight loss over weeks or months.
- Inappropriate body weight maintenance based on height, age, sex, stature, and health.
- Unexplained growth curve or BMI change.
The emotional symptoms as mentioned by the Mayo Clinic are as follows:
- Fear of gaining weight, checking in the mirror for perceived flaws.
- Flat mood
- Social withdrawal
- Irritability
- Insomnia
- Reduced interest in sex.
According to Walden Eating Disorders, these are the behavioural indicators of anorexia:
- Denial of hunger.
- Excessive exercise.
- Frequently skipping meals or refusing to eat.
- Covering up in layers of clothing
- Spitting food out after chewing.
- Refusal to eat in public.
- Binging and self-induced vomiting.
- Use of laxatives, enemas, diet aids, and herbal products.
