There are at least 8,000,000 or more victims in the United States alone.
It is estimated that six percent of serious cases die.
Some researchers believe that certain characteristics are common to the families of persons who develop the disorder.
These disorders usually appear in bright, attractive young women between 12 to 25 years of age.
However, people outside of this age group are also at risk.
At least 5 - 10% are male.
Problems usually begin when a person is dealing with a difficult transition, loss, puberty, divorce, family problems, death, new job, new school, relationship break up, sexual or physical abuse, critical comments, etc.
The person feels overwhelmed and out of control.
In most cases, people are experiencing relationship problems and loneliness in particular.
People who become anorexic often were good children, conscientious, hard working, and good students.
They may be people pleasers who seek approval and avoid conflict.
They may take care of other people and strive for perfection, but underneath they feel defective and inadequate.
They want to be special, to stand out from the mediocre masses.
They try to achieve that goal by losing weight and being thin.
They may have low tolerance for change, feeling that it represents chaos and loss of control.
They may fear growing up and taking on adult responsibilities.
Many are overly engaged with parents to the exclusion of peer relationships.
They use dieting and weight preoccupations to avoid, or ineffectively cope with, the demands of a new life stage such as adolescence or a new milestone such as expectations of adult sexuality.
WHAT IS ANOREXIA NERVOSA