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Health_AnorexiaFacts.ID_WB = 5288091;
Health_AnorexiaFacts.sPubDate = "6/24/2004 7:24:27 PM GMT";
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Health_AnorexiaFacts.appHeader = "Fact file|Eating disorders";
Health_AnorexiaFacts.appFooter = "Source: The Associated Press, Harvard Eating Disorders Center";
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Health_AnorexiaFacts[i++] = new Array("","Introduction","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
Health_AnorexiaFacts[i-1].body = "Anorexia and bulimia primarily affect people in their teens and twenties, but studies have reported both disorders in children as young as six and individuals as old as 76. About 1 percent of female adolescents have anorexia. Ten percent of people with anorexia are male.";

Health_AnorexiaFacts[i++] = new Array("","What causes eating disorders?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
Health_AnorexiaFacts[i-1].body = "Although no one variable has been found to \"cause\" an eating disorder, research has found that certain personality characteristics, genetic disposition, environment and biochemistry all play significant roles in the development of eating disorders.<p><b><i>Common characteristics in people with eating disorders:</i></b><br><li>Low self-esteem.<br><li>Feelings of helplessness and a fear of becoming fat. <br><li>Seeks perfection and excels at academics and sports.<br><li>People with bulimia nervosa often have difficulties dealing with stress and anxiety and may binge and purge to try to cope with these feelings. ";

Health_AnorexiaFacts[i++] = new Array("","How are they treated?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
Health_AnorexiaFacts[i-1].body = "Eating disorders are most successfully treated when diagnosed early. The longer abnormal eating behaviors persist, the more difficult it is to overcome the disorder and its effects on the body.<p>Once the eating disorder is diagnosed, a clinician can determine whether hospitalization is necessary or if the person can be treated as an outpatient.<p><b><i>When is hospitalization needed?</b></i><br><li>Excessive and rapid weight loss.<br><li>Serious metabolic disturbances.<br><li>Clinical depression.<br><li>Risk of suicide.<br><li>Severe binge eating and purging <br>psychosis.<p>Many treatment plans are comprehensive because eating disorders are emotionally and psychologically complex.<p>Treatment often involves a combination of interventions including:<br><li>Individual, group and/or family psychotherapy.<br><li>Nutritional counseling.<br><li>Cognitive therapy.<br><li>Behavioral therapy.<br><li>Antidepressant medication.<p>Ongoing emotional support is necessary for the individual, as recovery is a long process and relapse is common. ";

Health_AnorexiaFacts[i++] = new Array("","Treatment and mortality","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
Health_AnorexiaFacts[i-1].body = "<li>Without treatment, up to 20 percent of people with serious eating disorders die.<br><li>With treatment, that number falls to 2 and 3 percent.<br><li>With treatment, about 60 percent of people with eating disorders recover, maintaining a healthy weight and eating a varied diet of normal foods.<br><li>In spite of treatment, about 20 percent of people with eating disorders make only partial recoveries. They remain too focused on food and weight, and participate only peripherally in friendships and romantic relationships<br><li>The remaining 20 percent do not improve, even with treatment. They are seen repeatedly in emergency rooms, eating disorders programs and mental health clinics.";

Health_AnorexiaFacts[i++] = new Array("","Warning signs","","","","", "sub", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
Health_AnorexiaFacts[i++] = new Array("","Food behaviors","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
Health_AnorexiaFacts[i-1].body = "<li>The person skips meals, takes only tiny portions, will not eat in front of other people, eats in ritualistic ways and mixes strange food combinations.<br><li>May chew mouthfuls of food but spits them out before swallowing.<br><li>Grocery shops and cooks for the entire household, but will not eat all meals.<br><li>Always has an excuse not to eat -- is not hungry, just ate with a friend, is feeling ill, is upset and so forth.<br><li>Becomes \"disgusted\" with former favorite foods like red meat and desserts.<br><li>Will eat only a few \"safe\" foods.<br><li>Becomes a \"vegetarian\" but will not eat the necessary fats, oils, whole grains, and the denser fruits and veggies needed (such as sweet potatoes and avocados).<br><li>Drastically reduces or completely eliminates their fat intake.<br><li>Reads food labels religiously.<br><li>Or, in contrast to the above, the person gorges, usually in secret, emptying cupboards and refrigerator. May also buy special binge food.<br><li>Uses laxatives, diet pills, water pills or \"natural\" products from health food stores to promote weight loss.<br><li>May abuse alcohol or street drugs, sometimes to deaden appetite, sometimes to escape emotional pain and usually in hopes of feeling better, at least temporarily.";

Health_AnorexiaFacts[i++] = new Array("","Appearance and body","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
Health_AnorexiaFacts[i-1].body = "<li>The person loses, or tries to lose, weight. Has frantic fears of weight gain and obesity.<br><li>Wears baggy clothes, sometimes in layers, to hide fat, hide emaciation, and stay warm.<br><li>Obsesses about clothing size. Complains they are fat even though others truthfully say they aren't.<br><li>Spends a lot of time inspecting self in the mirror and usually finds something to criticize.<br><li>Insists they cannot feel good about self unless they are thin.";

Health_AnorexiaFacts[i++] = new Array("","Exercise behavior","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
Health_AnorexiaFacts[i-1].body = "<li>Exercises excessively and compulsively.<br><li>May tire easily and refuse to change the routine even though athletic performance suffers.<br><li>May develop strange eating patterns, supposedly to enhance athletic performance.<br><li>May consume sports drinks and supplements, but total calories are less than what an active lifestyle requires.<br>";

Health_AnorexiaFacts[i++] = new Array("","Thoughts, beliefs and feelings","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
Health_AnorexiaFacts[i-1].body = "<li>In spite of average or above-average intelligence, the person thinks in contradictory and simplistic ways, for example, \"If I am thinner, I will feel better about myself.\"<br><li>They lose the ability to think logically, evaluate reality objectively, and admit and correct undesirable consequences of choices and actions.<br><li>Becomes irrational and denies that anything is wrong. Argues with people who try to help, and then withdraws, sulks, or throws a tantrum.<br><li>Has trouble concentrating. <li>Obsesses about food and weight and becomes a perfectionist.<br><li>Envys thin people and seeks to emulate them.<br><li>Has trouble talking about feelings, especially anger.<br><li>Becomes moody, irritable, cross, snappish, touchy and socially isolated.<br><li>Feels inadequate, fearful of not measuring up. Frequently experiences depression, anxiety, guilt, loneliness, and at times overwhelming emptiness, meaninglessness, hopelessness and despair.";

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