It is a multifactorial eating condition in which the patients mistakenly perceive themselves as being overweight, even though their weight is extremely low, developing an excessive fear of gaining weight. Due to this, anorexics try to have the weight and appearance that, in their distorted vision of reality, are ideal, becoming an obsession that significantly affects their quality of life and which can have fatal consequences.
To continue losing weight, those affected, who are usually women, eat tiny amounts of food, and even take laxatives and diuretics, as well as make themselves vomit after eating something for fear of gaining weight. In addition, they can exercise excessively to avoid the accumulation of calories.
The direct causes of anorexia are unknown, but it has been established that it is due to psychological, biological, and social issues, where the affected person confuses extreme thinness with their value as a person, creating an equation where thinness is synonymous with self-esteem.
As with other eating disorders, anorexia can become a serious problem, affecting their lives at all levels, which is why it is important to see a specialist to receive immediate treatment and return to a healthy diet, change their self-perception, and avoid serious complications such as:
- Osteoporosis.
- Sarcopenia.
- Gastrointestinal alterations.
- Electrolyte deficiencies.
- Kidney failure.
- Anemia.
- Arrhythmias.
- Heart failure.
- Mitral valve prolapse.
- Death.
- Depressive episodes.
- Anxiety.
- Personality disorders.
- Alcoholism and drug addiction.
- Suicide.
