Medical Symptoms - infoMedMD

Anorexia is a hideous problem. It took the life of one of the best pop singers of the 1970s, Karen Carpenter. It can be treated, but it is not easy. Part of the problem is that our society promotes an unnatural body image on young people, especially young women. Before embarking on a discussion of whether or not you are anorexic, you should be aware that the definition of anorexia varies in the medical community. This Infomed uses the preferred definition of the psychiatric community. Please be aware that this definition can change but by and large, most doctors have a similar definition.

DSM IV Criteria for Anorexia Nervosa

1. Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height (e.g., weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight less than 85% of that expected or failure to make expected weight gain during period of growth, leading to body weight less than 85% of that expected).



2. Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight.



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. In postmenarchal (women who have had at least one period) females, amenorrhea (no period) i.e., the absence of at least three consecutive cycles. (A woman is considered to have amenorrhea if her periods occur only following hormone, e.g., estrogen administration.)