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Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves self-imposed weight-loss. The disorder affects adolescent females and young women more than males. According to the DSM-IV, a person with Anorexia Nervosa must have the following symptoms: refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height; intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight; disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight; and amenorrhea (in postmenarcheal females). Some bingeing and purging can occur in anorexia nervosa, but this is more common in bulimia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa can be fatal - because of starvation, because of cardiac problems induced by weight-cycling, or because of other health problems related to the stress on the body.
Source: http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/gl/blanorex.htm
 
Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc.
http://www.anred.com/
Welcome to the ANRED website. We are a nonprofit organization that provides information about anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other less-well-known food and weight disorders. Our material includes self-help tips and information about recovery and prevention.

Eating Disorders
U.S. Surgeon General
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter3/sec6.html#eating
Eating disorders are serious, sometimes life- threatening, conditions that tend to be chronic (Herzog et al., 1999). They usually arise in adolescence and disproportionately affect females.

Eating disorders in adolescents: Principles of diagnosis and treatment
Paediatrics & Child Health
http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/AM/am96-04.htm
Eating disorders are complex illnesses that affect adolescents with increasing frequency. They rank as the third most common chronic illness in adolescent females (1), with an incidence of up to 5% (2,3), a rate that has increased dramatically over the past three decades. Two major subgroups of the disorders are recognized: a restrictive form, in which food intake is severely limited (anorexia nervosa), and a bulimic form, in which binge eating episodes are followed by attempts to minimize the effects of overeating via vomiting, catharsis, exercise or fasting (bulimia nervosa). Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa can be associated with serious biological, psychological and sociological morbidity, and significant mortality.

Mirror, Mirror Eating Disorders
http://www.mirror-mirror.org/eatdis.htm
If you can relate to the above saying, you are not alone. Thousands of women and an increasing number of men look in the mirror everyday and hate what they see. I chose to use the phrase "Mirror, mirror on the wall" because I first heard it used in a fairy tale.

Something Fishy
http://www.something-fishy.org/
Website on Eating Disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa
http://www.eating-disorder.org/anorexia.html
Anorexia has been known and recognized by doctors for at least 300 years. (Also see History Of Eating Disorders) The main characteristics of anorexia is the considerable weight loss and emaciation resulting from failure to eat. It is difficult to tell how many people develop and suffer from anorexia as there is a great deal of under-reporting. Today researchers state that they are seeing anorexics from all classes and ethnic groups in men and women. Many feel that Anorexia is a disease that effects only women but this couldn't be farthest from the truth. It also effects young boys and men. Many think they are "too old" to have an eating disorder and I've heard stories of girls as young as 11 years old suffering from an eating disorder. It is truly a disease of any age and gender. Estimates of mortality rates vary but figures will tell that 6 and 10% of sufferers will eventually die as a result of Anorexia Nervosa.

Anorexia Nervosa
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
http://www.nami.org/helpline/anorexia.htm
Anorexia nervosa is a life-threatening eating disorder defined by a refusal to maintain body weight within 15 percent of an individual's minimal normal weight. Other essential features of this disorder include an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image, and amenorrhea (absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles when otherwise expected to occur) in women.

What is anorexia nervosa?
Your Family Doctor
http://familydoctor.org/handouts/063.html
Anorexia nervosa is an illness that usually occurs in teenage girls, but it can also occur in teenage boys, and adult women and men. People with anorexia are obsessed with being thin. They lose a lot of weight and are terrified of gaining weight. They believe they are fat even though they are very thin. Anorexia isn't just a problem with food or weight. It's an attempt to use food and weight to deal with emotional problems.

Educators: Understanding Your Role
by: Michael Levine, Ph.D., and Linda Smolak, Ph.D.
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=323&Profile_ID=41167
Faculty and Student Guidelines for Meeting With and Referring Students Who May Have Eating Disorder.

Educators: Some "Don'ts" for Those Working with Students
By: Michael Levine, Ph.D., and Linda Smolak, Ph.D.
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=323&Profile_ID=41168
There are some detrimental things that educators can do when addressing a child they suspect may have an eating disorder. Some of these include casting a net of awe and wonder around the existence of an eating disorder and oversimplifying that eating disorders are "just a phase".

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National Eating Disorders Association
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=337
The National Eating Disorders Association is continually creating new programs and curricula in order to accomplish its mission and increase the awareness of eating disorders.

The National Eating Disorder Information Centre
http://www.nedic.ca/
The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) is a Toronto-based, non-profit organization, established in 1985 to provide information and resources on eating disorders and weight preoccupation. NEDIC began as a result of the concerted efforts of a group of health-care providers.

Welcome to Anorexia.org
http://anorexia.org/
This site is dedicated to providing information and support to those with eating disorders, their families, and their friends.

Eating Disorders Anonymous
http://www.eatingdisordersanonymous.org/
Eating Disorders Anonymous (EDA) is a fellowship of individuals who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problems and help others to recover from their eating disorders. People can and do fully recover from having an eating disorder. In EDA, we help one another identify and claim milestones of recovery.
  

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Anorexia Nervosa – 30 questions
By Charles Kelly
http://www.manythings.org/voa/000720sr.htm

Biological Causes of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa
Jeremy Hirst
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper3/Hirst3.html
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa affect millions of people each year in the United States (1). Popular thought holds that these disorders are caused by women trying to fulfill a culturally imposed ideal body image which stresses thinness. As anorexia and bulimia have proven difficult to treat solely with a psychological-based treatment plan it is likely that there are many factors contributing to these disorders. Research has shown, however, that there is a significant biological component which leads to a manifestation of these disorders (2).

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The Long Road Back: A Survivor's Guide to Anorexia - click here.
Judy Tam Sargent, Contribution by Sonia Nordenson
Judy Tam Sargent, RN, M.S.N., chronicles her spiraling descent, deep into the jaws of Anorexia Nervosa. She spent ten years in and out of over twenty-five treatment centers, many of which committed atrocious acts against their eating-disordered patients. She was then only a teenager.

Wasted : A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
by Marya Hornbacher (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060930934/002-6849783-7858452?vi=glance
Why would a talented young girl go through the looking glass and step into a netherworld where up is down and food is greed, where death is honor and flesh is weak? Why enter into a love affair with hunger, drugs, sex, and death? Marya Hornbacher sustains both anorexia and bulimia through five lengthy hospitalizations, endless therapy, and the loss of family, friends, jobs, and ultimately, any sense of what it means to be "normal." By the time she is in college, Hornbacher is in the grip of a bout with anorexia so horrifying that it will forever put to rest the romance of wasting away. In this vivid, emotionally wrenching memoir, she re-created the experience and illuminated that tangle of personal, family, and cultural causes underlying eating disorders. Wasted is the story of one woman's travels to the darker side of reality, and her decision to find her way back--on her own terms.

Anorexia Nervosa
by Lindsey Hall, Monika Ostroff
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0936077328/psychologyn0b-20/002-6849783-7858452
"This inspired, compassionate book will be a tremendous resource to persons whose lives are, or have been affected by anorexia."

Surviving an Eating Disorder
by Michelle Siegel (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060952334/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/002-6849783-7858452
Surviving an Eating Disorder became an instant success when it was first published in 1988, not just because it was among the first books to alert America to the serious dangers of a silent but widespread disease, but because it offered effective solutions and support for family and friends of those with eating disorders. Eight years after its publication, the book continues to sell briskly and generate continuing interest from readers.

Dying to Be Thin: Understanding and Defeating Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia-A Practical, Lifesaving Guide
by Ira M., M.D. Sacker, Marc A., Ph.D. Zimmer
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446384178/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/002-6849783-7858452
Packed with information on how, when and where anorexics, bulimics and their families can seek help, this book provides a caring comprehensive examination of anorexia and bulimia.

When Your Child Has an Eating Disorder: A Step-By-Step Workbook for Parents and Other Caregivers
by Abigail H. Natenshon (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0787945781/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/002-6849783-7858452
When Your Child has an Eating Disorder is the first hands-on workbook to help parents successfully intervene when they suspect their child has an eating disorder. This step-by-step guide is filled with self-tests, questions and answers, journaling and role playing exercises, and practical resources that give parents the insight they need to understand eating disorders and their treatment, recognize symptoms in their child, and work with their child toward recovery. This excellent and effective resource is one therapists can feel confident about recommending to patients.

The Eating Disorder Sourcebook : A Comprehensive Guide to the Causes, Treatments, and Prevention of Eating Disorders
by Carolyn Costin
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0737301023/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/002-6849783-7858452
Provides a compassionate and comprehensive look at this potentially fatal disorder through a multidimensional approach that incorporates nutritional, psychological, and biochemical aspects. Costin addresses questions about the cause, treatment, and prevention of anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and activity disorder. Patients, families, and professionals may avail themselves of up-to-date information on treatment programs, family therapy, and support groups.

Anatomy of Anorexia
by Steven Levenkron
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393321010/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/002-6849783-7858452
Anatomy of Anorexia is a tremendous tool for families: now more than ever, early diagnosis and treatment, and family participation, are crucial in helping the anorexic. Preeminent therapist Steven Levenkron demystifies this life-threatening disease and shows how the millions of girls and women who are afflicted with anorexia can be helped--and can look forward to rich and productive lives.

Desperately Seeking Self: An Inner Guidebook for People With Eating Problems
by Viola Fodor
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/093607728X/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/002-6849783-7858452
For people concerned with eating disorders and the psychotherapists who treat them. This is a gift book that can be given to anyone troubled by food and weight issues, family and loved ones, and therapists.
 

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