Mental HealthPending review
Anorexia nervosa
A disorder in which fear of weight gain drives deliberate energy restriction to a degree that starves every organ system, and where the starvation state itself entrenches the cognitive distortion that sustains it.
In a nutshell
Anorexia nervosa is driven by an overvalued fear of weight gain that enforces deliberate restriction, and starvation itself entrenches the cognitions that sustain it. Every physical sign reflects the body running on famine physiology, and refeeding must be cautious because depleted intracellular electrolytes can cause fatal shifts (refeeding syndrome) once nutrition is reintroduced.
Classic presentation
A significantly underweight patient with an intense fear of weight gain, a distorted body image, rigid food rules, amenorrhoea and bradycardia, who minimises the seriousness of their low weight.
Key points
- The drive to restrict is cognitive (fear of weight gain, body image disturbance) rather than a loss of appetite; patients often remain hungry.
Educational content pending clinical review. Not medical advice.