Anorexia nervosa is a serious psychiatric eating disorder defined by persistent restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight, an intense fear of weight gain or behaviour that interferes with weight restoration, and a disturbance in the way body weight or shape is experienced. It typically be…
Anorexia nervosa is a serious psychiatric eating disorder defined by persistent restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight, an intense fear of weight gain or behaviour that interferes with weight restoration, and a disturbance in the way body weight or shape is experienced. It typically begins in adolescence or early adulthood, affects females more often than males, and carries one of the highest mortality rates among mental illnesses, reflecting both medical complications and elevated suicide risk. Two presentations are recognised: a restricting type, characterised by dieting, fasting, and excessive exercise, and a binge-eating or purging type. The sustained energy deficit produces widespread physiological consequences, including loss of muscle and bone mass, cardiovascular and endocrine disturbance, electrolyte imbalance, and gastrointestinal complications such as superior mesenteric artery syndrome. Its origins are multifactorial, involving genetic, neurobiological, psychological, and sociocultural contributions, and it frequently co-occurs with anxiety, depression, and disturbed sleep. Management is multidisciplinary, combining medical stabilisation, nutritional rehabilitation with structured refeeding and high-energy supplementation, and psychological therapy, while careful monitoring guards against refeeding syndrome. Research examines the disorder's medical sequelae, body-composition changes, optimal nutritional intervention, and the interplay of mind and body underlying its onset and course.
6 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 6 articles above have been cited 15 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Anorexia Nervosa, linking to each citing work.