Very often people blame society for eating disorders. Television programs and magazines are full of extremely slim models and actors. But eating disorders are nothing new. They've been around for hundreds of years.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Dawson D.
Anorexia and bulimia: a parents' guide to recognising eating disorders and taking control.
Random House, London, UK; 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

¹ These images may play a part in someone getting an eating disorder, but they're probably not the only reason.

Starving yourself may be connected to painful, difficult emotions.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Kerr JK, Skok RL, McLaughlin TF.
Characteristics common to females who exhibit anorexic or bulimic behavior: a review of current literature.
Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1991; 47: 846-853.

 

 

 

 

 

² It might be a way of keeping bad feelings away. It can give you a sense of control when other parts of your life are going wrong or seem too difficult to manage. Here are some of the feelings that have been linked to anorexia.

Doctors think that sometimes anorexia starts when someone goes on a diet.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Kerr JK, Skok RL, McLaughlin TF.
Characteristics common to females who exhibit anorexic or bulimic behavior: a review of current literature.
Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1991; 47: 846-853.

 

 

 

 

 

²

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Psychiatric Association.
Eating disorders.
In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th edition. American Psychiatric Press, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.; 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

⁵ Some people diet to try to stay healthy. But people also diet because they are unhappy about themselves or their life. We don't know why dieting is harmless for some people and the start of anorexia for others.

 

 

 

 

 

serotonin
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, which is a chemical that helps to send information from a nerve cell to other cells. It is thought to play a role in learning, sleep and control of mood.

 

 

 

 

 

Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that helps control your emotions and how hungry you feel. Some studies suggest that people with anorexia don't have the right amount of serotonin. If this chemical isn't working well in the brain, it may cause symptoms of anorexia, or make them worse.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Halmi KA.
Eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and obesity.
In: Hales RE, Yudofsky SC (editors). Essentials of clinical psychiatry. 3rd edition. American Psychiatric Press, London, UK; 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

⁶

Anorexia can run in families. This may be because you and the other people in your family have some of the same

 

 

 

 

 

genes
Your genes are the parts of your cells that contain instructions for how your body works. Genes are housed on chromosomes, structures that sit in the nucleus at the middle of each of your cells. You have 23 pairs of chromosomes in your normal cells, each of which has thousands of genes. You get one set of chromosomes, and all of the genes that are on them, from each of your parents.

 

 

 

 

 

genes.

If either of your parents had an eating disorder, you'll have more chance of getting anorexia than other people your age.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Kerr JK, Skok RL, McLaughlin TF.
Characteristics common to females who exhibit anorexic or bulimic behavior: a review of current literature.
Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1991; 47: 846-853.

 

 

 

 

 

²

Some research shows that baby girls who are born premature will have a higher risk of getting anorexia later in life than baby girls born after spending 40 weeks in the womb.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Cnattingius S, Hultman CM, Dahl M, et al.
Very preterm birth, birth trauma and the risk of anorexia nervosa among girls.
Archives of General Psychiatry. 1999; 56: 634-638.

 

 

 

 

 

⁷ This is especially true in babies who are very small when they are born.

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