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What are the symptoms of anorexia nervosa?

Deliberate weight loss

This is the main symptom. You lose weight by avoiding fattening foods or even any foods. People with anorexia limit the amount they eat and drink to control how their body looks. You may often pretend to other people that you are eating far more than you actually are. You may be using other ways of staying thin, such as exercising too much. You may also have made yourself vomit, take laxatives, or even take appetite suppressant drugs or diuretics (water tablets).

People with anorexia typically weigh 15% or more below the expected weight for their age, sex and height. The BMI (body mass index) is calculated by your weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of your height (in metres). For example, if you weigh 66kg and are 1.7m tall then your BMI would be 66/(1.7x1.7) = 22.8. A normal BMI for an adult is 20-25. Above that you are overweight and below you are underweight. Adults with anorexia have a BMI below 17.5.

With anorexia, you feel very in control of your body weight and shape. However, with time, anorexia takes control of you. Chemical changes occur in your brain which then makes it very difficult to make healthy, normal choices about the amount and types of food you eat.

A wrong idea of body size

People with anorexia think that they are fat when they are actually very thin. Although other people see you as thin or underweight, it is very difficult for you to see this. You are likely to have a severe dread (like a phobia) of gaining weight. People with anorexia will do their utmost to avoid putting on weight.

Other features

It is common for people with anorexia to:

• Vomit secretly after eating.
• Try hard to hide their thinness, for example, by wearing baggy clothes.
• Tend not to be truthful about how much they eat and about everything to do with food.
• Like food and feel hungry, but it is the consequences of eating that frightens them.

You may also may find that you have become very obsessed with what other people are eating.

People with anorexia often restrict themselves to certain types of food. Eating food may even become like a ritual. For example, each time you eat you have to cut your food into very small pieces. You may think frequently about your weight and even weigh yourself most days or even several times a day. It is also common to feel cold most of the time and have irregular sleeping patterns. You might also find yourself having poor concentration.

- Read more: what are the health risks?

More help and advice

- Why normal conversation can influence anorexia
- Tips on battling anorexia
- In-depth info on bulimia
- How to give your child a good body image

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