The American Psychiatric Association said the eating disorder anorexia nervosa “afflicts as many as one in every 100 females.”

Essentially self-starvation, anorexia involves a refusal to maintain a minimally normal body weight. In severe cases, anorexia can be life-threatening.

The signs and symptoms of anorexia (anorexia nervosa) include:

- Weight loss, sometimes achieved by self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives, use of diuretics or exercise
- Refusal to maintain normal body weight- Intense fear of gaining weight
- Negatively altered body image
- Menstrual changes or the absence of menstruation
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Irregular heart rate
- Mild anemia
- Brittle nails and hair
- Low blood pressure

While the media is often blamed for influencing girls to become thinner, UAB psychologist Mary Boggiano, Ph.D., said eating disorders develop from a combination of environmental, behavioral and genetic factors.

“Media images don’t cause eating disorders, but they do set up stress and anxiety in young women that lead to behavioral factors, namely dieting. Strict dieting is the gateway to eating disorders," Mary Boggiano admits.

"Not everyone who diets, however, develops eating disorders. There’s strong evidence that genes make some vulnerable to eating disorders.”

Treatments for anorexia may involve nutrition education, psychotherapy, family counseling and medications. 

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