Anorexia - Killing American Teens Everyday
By Steve Urbick

The vicious eating disorder known to all as anorexia is one of the most deadly out there. More common in females than males, it's estimated that 1% of all teenage girls have this disorder, and that out of that 1%, up to 10% may die from it.

The individual with this disorder believes they are obese or overweight and have a very poor self-image of themself. In an attempt to quickly lose weight by whatever means necessary, people with anorexia have been known to starve themselves, take laxatives in order to expell food from the body, and it many cases extreme amounts of exercise. Any of these three are enough to take a terrible toll on the body.

Don't confuse anorexia with bulimia. Anorexia is when a person refuses to eat (or eats very little). Bulimia is when a person consumes large amounts of food (binging) and then force themself to vomit in back up (purging). Both stem from an incredibly poor image of self and the person thinking or feeling extremely overweight, but they are very different diseases.

What are the symptoms and medical problems?

If you think someone might have a problem with anorexia, here are some short term signs to look for:

Extreme weight loss over a short period of time
Unwilling to eat in front of others
Anxiety
Constant Fatigue
Unusual concern about calorie intake
For women only: 3 consecutively missed menstrual cycles

These are just some of the most common signs that someone may be anorexic. This is by no means a complete list nor do these signs always indicate anorexia. This is just a guide to use. If you feel that someone you know and love may have a problem, sit down with the person, surround them with friends and family, and have a loving, understanding discussion with them.