Before going into the ‘why’, it is important to know the ‘who’. So who suffers from anorexia?

Mostly, women suffer from anorexia, though there have been occasional cases of young males suffering from it too. Such cases are rare, though, comprising a mere 10 percent of all anorexics.

Among women, those in the age group of 15 and 19 years, i.e. girls in their mid to late teens have been found to constitute 40% of all anorexics.

Most anorexics are perfectionists

It is very difficult to pin down one single reason that causes people to become anorexics. Anorexia, as mentioned earlier, is a mental condition, and causes people to become irrational about the fact of losing/gaining weight.

Studies have shown that most anorexics are perfectionists, and are usually people successful in their sphere of activity. However, being the perfectionists they are, they are not content with their bodies, and tend to look towards slimness as a defining point for perfection.

However, there is no benchmark for ‘how slim is slim’, and soon it degenerates into an obsession.

Control through denial of nutrition

Basically, there is more to anorexia than just excessive dieting, which is what it seems like at first glance.

At a more psychlogical level, it is all about using denial of nutrition to the body as a way of retaining control over one’s life. It is also about trying and reducing anxiety levels and stress by reducing the amount of food and nutrition that the body requires on a daily basis.

At a more scientific level, this can be explained as follows. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, can play a crucial role in inducing anorexia in people. Serotonin imbalance affects those areas of the brain responsible for anxiety and mood swings.

Hormonal responses to starvation can ease anxiety

The response to these imbalances is starvation, which reduces hormone synthesis as well as the levels of tryptophan in the body. A reduction of these causes a reduction in the levels of serotonin in the brain, which in turn, helps reduce the anxiety.

Over time, the body recognizes this as the easy way out to beat stress and anxiety, and thus sets in the repetitive dieting that causes anorexia.

Genetic pre-disposition

Another cause for anorexia could be genetics.

Studies have found that in some cases a person suffering from anorexia has a family history of the disorder. Besides genetics, low self-worth is seen to influence many patients, which translates into a desire to look ‘good’ (‘good’ translating to ‘slim’). As mentioned earlier, such people are perfectionists.

Parental criticism can be a factor

Parental criticism can also be a strong influence in pushing a child towards anorexia.

This is usually in the case of families that lay very strong importance on fitness. The child tries to live up to the parents’ expectations and beat their critical eye by rigorous exercise and dieting, which in turn more often than not results in anorexia.

Signs of Anorexia >>