Anorexia Nervosa and Female Adolescents

Anorexia nervosa is a relatively uncommon but very serious eating disorder that occurs principally in women in the second and third decades of life. The disease is characterized by an extreme and neurotic aversion to food. Medically, the exact cause of this disorder is not known, but he illness apparently has its beginnings in a complex group of psychological problems such as inner conflicts over sexuality, aggression and dependency (which at times border almost on the psychotic) as well as sociological factors not yet clearly understood. The anorexic person may have difficulty with self-identification and may even, in extreme cases, associate food with unacceptable sexual fantasies or even with the unconscious rejection of sexuality. It is not uncommon for the anorexic to have a mother who is overly concerned with weight reduction and matters pertaining to diet. The anorexic herself may be overly sensitive about adolescent plumpness.

An anorexic person generally displays persistent refusal to eat adequately, even in the face of real hunger, and this leads to profound weight loss and emaciation. Every type of deceit will be utilized in order to lose weight, including l