Anorexia is an eating disorder. It is the common name for anorexia nervosa, a condition in which a person is obsessed with thinness and tries to maintain a weight that is below a healthy level. In some cases, people with anorexia can appear as little more than skeletons and skin, and yet feel overweight. To combat weight gain, people with anorexia may exercise excessively or starve themselves. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, anorexia occurs mostly in young women and adolescent girls, although it has been diagnosed in men, too. Women as old as eighty have been diagnosed as well. The exact cause of anorexia is unknown, but understanding the risk factors for anorexia can help identify the onset of this condition.
Genetic Factors
There is a genetic link with eating disorders. A person who has a relative in her immediate family, a mother or sister for example, with anorexia is ten times more likely to develop an eating disorder than a person who does not have an immediate relative with anorexia. The National Library of Medicine also lists a family history of addictions as a risk factor for developing anorexia.
Occupations
The Mayo Clinic notes that some occupations are associated with thinness and people employed in these occupations have a higher risk of developing anorexia. These occupations include people employed as dancers, actors, athletes, television personalities and models.
Psychological
The National Library of Medicine lists perfectionism as a risk factor for developing anorexia. Possessing a negative self-image is also a risk factor. Other risk factors include accepting the media's presentation of thinness as a realistic ideal and having an unusually high focus on the weight and shape of one's body.
Childhood
Going through a period of childhood anxiety that is associated with changes in the body, such as during puberty, especially when it involves criticism of the body, is a risk factor for developing anorexia. Having parents who are concerned about their own weight and weight loss also increases the risk of the child developing anorexia. In addition, during early childhood, a pattern of picky eating results in an increased risk of developing anorexia.
