Anorexia is a?

Anorexia, also called anorexia nervosa, is an eating disorder that affects both sexes and is caused by an excessive, limitless, and uncontrolled desire to lose weight and maintain a certain beauty standard. When a patient suffers from anorexia, they stop eating and are unable to see that their body is gradually wasting away from a lack of adequate nutrition. The anorexic individual may even completely lose the feeling of hunger.

In anorexia, the ribs and back bones become visible, and the anorexic person develops additional diseases and conditions, such as alopecia, which is hair loss, caused by a lack of nutrients in the body. Even with a clear appearance of excessive thinness, this eating disorder can cause the anorexic individual to perceive themselves as overweight and continue to strive for the ideal thinness. Many doctors indicate that anorexia is, above all, a body image disorder.

In addition to not eating, a person with anorexia may end up overdoing physical exercise and using laxatives and diuretics, always with the intention of losing weight.