A Contemporaneus Problem: Anorexia – Martina Guidi e Denisa Rapea

Eating Disorders

We would like to talk about this real problem because it’s very close to us. One of the most well-known eating disorders is Anorexia, commonly called Anorexia Nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric illness that describes an eating disorder, characterized by extreme low body weight and body image distortion, with an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Individuals with anorexia are known to control body weight commonly through the means of voluntary starvation, purging, excessive exercise or other weight control measures, such as diet pills or diuretic drugs. While the condition primarily affects adolescent females, approximately 10% of people with the diagnosis are male. Anorexia nervosa, involving neurobiological, psychological, and sociological components, is a complex condition that can leadto death in severe cases.

To defend and approve anorexic people there are a lot of blogs or sites called “Pro-Ana”. Pro-Ana refers to the promotion of anorexia nervosa as a lifestyle choice rather than an eating disorder. It is often referred to simply as “Ana” and is sometimes affectionately personified by anorexics as a girl named Ana. Pro-Ana is a loosely descriptive term rather than an organized social movement, and as such encompasses a wide range of views. Many Pro-Ana organizations state that they do not promote anorexia and that they instead exist mainly to give anorexics a place to turn to discuss their illness in a non-judgmental environment: some promote recovery while still supporting those who choose to defer or refuse medical or psychological treatment. Others go further, disputing the prevailing psychological and medical consensus that treats anorexia nervosa as a mental illness rather than a “lifestyle choice” that should be respected by doctors and family.

If you want know more about this topic, specially about these sites called “pro-Ana”, you can click here.

Or look for these books:

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– Brumberg, Joan Jacobs; “Fasting Girls: The

Martina Guidi, Denisa Rapea