Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder commonly seen in women, which is also a psychiatric illness.  Patients who suffered from anorexia nervosa are  extremely underweight and have obsession not to gain more weight.  They actually think that they can control weight by purging, not eating which leads to starvation, purging, excessive exercise and taking diet pills.

Anorexia comes from a Greek word, which means lack of desire to eat or no appetite (one brand of diet pill called Anoretix must have gotten its name after anorexia).   There is no single cause of anorexia. According to study, the cause is a mixture of psychological, biological and social factors.

DSM IV has identified characteristics of a patient to be classified suffering Anorexia nervosa:

1. Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height
2. Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming obese
3. Disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight.
4. The absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles (amenorrhea) in women who have had their first menstrual period but have not yet gone through menopause (postmenarcheal, premenopausal females).

Patients who suffer from anorexia nervosa usually have low self-esteem, have poor insight, perfectionist, have distorted bod image, and can have suicidal ideation/attempt.