Anorexia nervosa is a disorder characterized by the relentless pursuit of thinness through voluntary starvation.  The predominant features of this disorder include refusal to maintain body weight over a minimal normal weight given an individual’s age, height, weight history and build, or a failure to make expected weight or becoming fat; a distorted body image; and amenorrhea (cessation of menses) in postmenarchial females.  Ninety percent of all anorexia nervosa cases are females.  An onset usually occurs during adolescence.

Severe weight loss often necessitates hospitalization to prevent death by starvation.  Follow-up studies estimate long-term mortality rates to be more than 10 percent from related medical complications.  Specific causes of death include malnutrition, dehydration, heart attack, kidney damage, liver impairment, and suicide following severe depression.

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