Eating Disorders: Eating Disorder Help

Monday 22 October 2012

Eating Disorder Help

Anorexia nervosa (“an”-without, “orexia” -appetite, desire) is characterized by the refusal to maintain a body weight at the minimum normal weight for a person’s age and height coupled with an intense fear of weight gain and distorted body image (Vogler 1993). The symptoms typically include significant weight loss, intense fear of weight gain, preoccupation with low-fat and low-calorie foods, specific eating rituals and habits, excessive exercise, and social and emotional withdrawal. Anorexia nervosa (also known as the “rich girl’s syndrome”) is present in certain members of all populations around the world and existed throughout history even before the intense media focus on thinness (Gordon 2000).Indeed, “anorexia nervosa” as a term is a relatively new, but as a clinical entity it can be traced back hundreds of years. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, dominant interpretations of self-starvation were religious, particularly in Western Christianity. Women who starved themselves (“miracle maidens”) were highly esteemed, and the origins of their “holy anorexia” were thought to be supernatural. One well known example of a fasting woman was Catherine of Siena (1347-80) who was regarded as a saint. For Catherine, complete control over her body was a sign of devotion (Heywood 1996). In her eyes, to yield to food was to yield to sin and, ultimately, to deceive God.