Dying to be Thin...The Skinny on Anorexia

Anorexia nervosa is a worldwide eating disorder in which someone has a constant obsession with their weight and stresses over not being thin enough. Even though they are underweight they still believe their body image is not perfect, and will continue to lose weight by starving themselves to achieve their image of perfection. Anorexia is more common in women than men which is mainly caused by the impression society has influenced in young women, that the only way they will look good is if they are a certain size.
One of my relatives who suffers from anorexia will always complain about her body image even though she is completely skin and bones. She takes dieting to the extreme and with the onset of any weight gain, in her case she is a compulsive exerciser so it's actually caused by gaining muscle, she will get depressed and lose her gained weight by decreasing intake even further.
Psychologists who treat people with this disorder found that the individuals see themselves as fat and about 85% perceive their weight as above what it actually is. Throughout the course of their severe dieting they with lose between 25%-50% of their body weight causing them to have a bony and fatigue appearance. The symptoms that arise with anorexia are hair loss, fainting, loss of heart tissue, lanugo, low body fat, loss of menstrual cycles, bone deterioration, low body temperature, iron deficiency, and constipation. Life threatening conditions are associated with anorexia nervosa if it goes untreated. The victim is likely to die from heart failure due to their body shutting down completely.