Causes of Anorexia

It is probably easier to eliminate the causes of anorexia than to define them.

Anorexia is neither a viral nor a bacterial infection. As far as science knows, there is no indication that it is contagious. You can’t “catch” anorexia from a sneeze, a dirty drinking glass or a kiss. The disease is neither air-borne nor blood-borne.

Anorexia is probably not caused by the hormonal imbalance that is usually associated with puberty. Although the illness is most frequently diagnosed in pre-teen or teen-age girls, many cases have been diagnosed in pre-pubescent and adolescent males as well as in adults in an age range from 20 to 70 years old.

Anorexia is not caused by alcohol or drug abuse. Although drug or alcohol abuse may contribute to or be a symptom of the low self-esteem that is a symptom of the disease, neither form of abuse is a cause of anorexia.

Possible Causes

Environmental

Although the causes of anorexia are not yet and may never be specifically defined, for many years experts believed that the illness was primarily a behavioral disorder. This stems from the fact that anorexia is more apt to be diagnosed in highly affluent, well-developed societies where an undue emphasis is put upon the problems of obesity and the advantages of maintaining a slender physique.

Biological

If anorexia is a behavioral disease, then studies also indicated that, like other mental and behavioral illnesses, it may be caused by dysfunction in neurotransmitters located in the brain. Some research indicates that higher levels of serotonin (a brain chemical) cause an individual to withdraw socially and suppress his or her appetite. However, again, the higher level of serotonin may be a result of the anorexia, rather than a cause.

Genetic

Family interaction, or the lack of it, and childhood training were once thought to cause many mental illnesses, however research no longer supports this theory. Nevertheless, some recent studies suggest that Anorexia may also have a genetic link, since frequently, there are multiple cases, which occur within the same family.

What Anorexia Causes

More important than what causes anorexia, is what anorexia causes. Anorexia is a debilitating progressive illness. It is insidious in that it may begin with an ordinary diet plan to “lose a few pounds” before a special event or a youngster’s self-awakening and attempt to lose his or her “baby-fat”.

Anorexia causes an individual to lose from 15% to 60% of their normal body weight. It causes them to deny the fact that they are horrifically underweight. Eventually, anorexia causes digestive processes to slow down or shut down completely. Eventually, anorexia causes death.

If you suspect someone has anorexia, encourage him or her to seek help before anorexia causes you the agony of losing a friend or loved one.

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