Anorexia Nervosa - Facts, symptoms and treatment of the eating disorder Anorexia

Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa

 

Successful treatment of and recovery from anorexia is possible, but it can take many years. The earlier intervention arrests the course of the disease, the more successful the treatment is likely to be. Anorexia nervosa has the highest death rate of all mental illnesses, with as many as 20% of anorexics eventually dying of complications of the disease, usually from failure of the heart or another organ failure or from low levels of potassium.

Once an anorexic reaches a certain weight, death becomes a very real possibility. A sign of danger is when the BMI (or body mass index) drops to around 12 to 12.5.(As a point of reference, a normal BMI is between 19 and 23, most "centerfold" models have a BMI of 18, and most fashion models come in at 17. An anorectic BMI is usually defined as being below 17.5.)

 

 

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