Anorexia of Aging
The aging generation is more prone to anorexia than you might think. Although the average age of diagnosed patients with anorexia is 17, there are elderly who also suffer from eating disorders. There are over 8 million people diagnosed with anorexia and other eating disorders and the majority are between the ages of 10 and 20. There are also a few younger than 10 years of age but it is rare. There is one in every 6 people diagnosed with anorexia that is male. Although most of the younger cases are female, in the elder years the most are males. Most people who die from anorexia are over 70 but there are many younger people who die from it too. Anorexia causes damage to every vital organ in the body and not all problems are reversible. Some of the damage can not be fixed or treated. The major organs effected by anorexia are the lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, and brain. After the victim has lost the weight needed to become average weight the brain keeps telling them that they are still fat so they think they have to keep going to lose even more. They are so determined to keep losing because they feel that more is better. The reasons for anorexia is largely caused by our culture and the way we live today. We see billboards, magazines, and television models, actresses, and actors who are thin so we assume that we need to look like them in order to succeed in life. There is too much stress put on losing weight. There are many people who need to lose weight for health reasons but not to lose too much. Being extremely underweight can be as dangerous as being extremely overweight. Both conditions put a lot of strain on the vital organs of the body.
In the cases of the elderly becoming anorexic, it is caused when the healthy elderly person experiences a decrease in their appetite for one reason or another. This causes malnutrition. The hormone leptin and the protein ghrelin helps regulate the appetite. Leptin is known to produce the feelings of fullness and ghrelin produces the feelings of being hungry. The alterations of these in seniors can reduce the feelings hunger or fullness. Lack of appetite can be caused by several things. An elderly might experience an illness or loss of a loved one. These reasons as well as others may bring on the beginning of anorexia. It should be easier to diagnose anorexia in the elderly than it is in the younger people because in many cases they may not try to hide the signs or symptoms. They may not be able, physically, to hide them.
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