Anorexia Nervosa: Understanding Diagnostic Criteria and Treatments

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. It discusses the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, referencing the DSM and including aspects such as disturbance in body image, fear of gaining weight, and lack of recognition of the seriousness of low body weight. The essay further explores various effective treatments for anorexia nervosa, including psychotherapy (cognitive remediation therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, family based therapy), medication, nutritional counselling, and group/family therapy, and hospitalization. Psychotherapy and nutritional counseling are presented as highly effective treatments. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of addressing the disorder to avoid severe health consequences and highlights the role of family support in successful treatment.

Assessment 1 Essay

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Element 1................................................................................................................................3
Element 2................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Anorexia nervosa refers to an eating disorder which is effective and are most common
eating disorder which includes rumination disorder which leads to impact one the food intake
disorder. In this, Boris Johnson is the chosen person who is suffering with eating disorder which
leads to create high negative health impact on his health. In this, essay, there is discussion about
the diagnostic criteria about the eating disorder. This also includes how the chosen person meet
the diagnostic criteria. There is also discussion about the effective treatment for the selected
disorder along with evaluation of best treatment. This essay includes the different and best
treatment for the selected disorder for the large pollution (Regan, (2017)).
MAIN BODY
Element 1
Boris Johnson is the selected person who is suffering from the eating disorder and have
negative health impact. There is various health impact which can cause difficulty for the
individual that can relate with issues and have high impact on performing well to ensure about
different activities. In this, there are many of the diagnostic criteria for the eating disorder which
includes disturbance in the way individual body shape and weight is experienced, self-
evaluation, influence of body-weight, lack of recognition of seriousness of low body weight and
many more (Martin Monzon & et. al., (2017)).
Boris Johnson is a spokesperson and he was suffering from the high body weight. In this,
he has performed different activities and method which allow to control his body weight. In this,
there are many of issues arises which has been deal with the condition. There are some of the
diagnostic criteria that may include refusal to maintain body weight on average, intense fear to
maintain average body weight even during underweight. These criteria can be achieved through
focusing on the There are many of the cause which lead to consider that Boris Johnson got the
eating disorder where he like to control his high body weight. In this, Boris Johnson meet the
eating disorder diagnostic criteria where he self-evaluated that he is possessing high body weight
which should be maintained and needed to control over it. This was effective to analyse and
evaluated about the body shape and body weight which allow to recognise the diagnostic criteria.
He got the psychology that, Boris Johnson was suffering from his high body weight where he
recognises about his body weight that influence the way to maintain his body weight and shape

where he got the psychological influence for maintaining body weight (Ruddock, (2017)). After
this, Boris Johnson take care of every diet that was the change in his behaviour which includes
the DSM diagnostic criteria for eating disorder.
Element 2
Anorexia nervosa is also known as anorexia which is potentially life-threatening eating
disorder and are characterised by self-starvation along with excessive weight loss. This is the one
when a person gets less than the normal body weight. This can lead to create health impact on
individual with anorexia nervosa. This refers to loss of appetite in which individual may face
difficulty and can feel often hungry (Aloi, (2017)). There is different cause which can lead to
create anorexia within individual. There is no any specific reason for the anorexia and may
inform as some combination of personality traits, thinking patterns, emotions along with
environmental and biological factors. This includes different symptoms like rapid weight loss
and over several weeks or months, having unusual interest in food, intense fear of gaining
weight, depression, anxiety, frequent illness, compulsive exercise, social withdrawal and others.
To deal with this eating disorder there is need to get proper diagnosis and ensure about the
effective treatment according to healthcare professionals. It is important to treated with this
eating disorder for the better health. When this is untreated then there are different consequences
which can lead to create high negative impact on the individual that can includes the loss of hair,
irregular heartbeat, drop in blood pressure, drop in breathing rates and damaged organs. To avoid
such type of consequences, there is need to ensure that effective treatment should be provided
which can enable to deliver quality care for better and improved health. In there, there are some
of the treatment which can be more effective and help individual to get better health. Some of the
effective treatment may include psychotherapy, medication, nutrition counselling, family or
group therapy, hospitalization and others (Weinbach, (2018)). In this, every treatment is effective
and able to reduce the risk of getting bad health within individual.
Psychotherapy- This is a type of individual counselling which have the focus on changing
individual thinking and their behaviour within eating disorder. In this, there is a treatment which
includes practical techniques which can allow to develop healthy attitudes towards weight and
food. This also refers to the approach for responding in difficulty situation where individual may
respond. There are some of the type of psychotherapy which may include cognitive remediation
therapy, acceptance along with commitment therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, cognitive

behavioural therapy, family based therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, psychodynamic
psychotherapy. Within acceptance along with commitment therapy, there is development of goal
which can motivate individual to take action accordingly and can change the action instead of
feelings and thoughts of individual (Stice & et. al., (2018)). Cognitive remediation therapy uses
reflection along with guided supervision which allow to develop the capability of focusing for
more than one things within one time. Family based therapy is an effective therapy which allow
individual to put their parents along with their family to get in charge for intake of nutritional
food which can be consumed by the individual with anorexia. Interpersonal psychotherapy has
the aim to resolve the interpersonal problem area. This is effective and allow to get ensure about
the improving relationship along with communication for resolving problem that may help to
reduce the eating disorder symptoms within individual. Cognitive behavioural therapy has the
goal to address the distorted views along with attitude regarding weight, appearance and shape
that can involve in the practice of individual behaviour (What are the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria
for anorexia nervosa? (2019)).
Medication- There is also some medication which can be effective and allow to provide
better medication that are recommended by the healthcare providers that are associated with
anorexia. This may include antipsychotic medication like olanzapine which can be helpful in
weight gain. There is also some medication which can be prescribed by the medication with help
of period regulation (Lydecker & et. al., (2017)).
Nutritional counselling- This is also an effective medication which allow to get better and
effective support in getting through the eating disorder. In this, there is need to ensure about the
healthy approach regarding food and weight. This can be helpful in restore in normal eating
patterns that allow to achieve the good health within individual. There is also need to ensure
about the teaching importance of nutrition along with balanced diet (Goldschen & et. al., (2019)).
This is also helpful in restoring healthy relationship with eating and food that allow to restore the
healthy weight and can get better and improved health.
Group along with family therapy- This is the treatment for the anorexia which can allow to
get better and effective way to treated and get over through the eating disorder. This is the one
which allow to get better health and provide effective health for the individual that can help in
getting better and improved health (Lindstedt & et. al., (2018)). To get over through the eating
disorder, there is need to get help through the family which allow to get better and effective help

and support that allows and support individual in emotional support for the better health. Here,
family support is important to deal with the anorexia for the success of treatment. In this, family
member should ensure about understanding eating disorder along with recognising its sign along
with symptoms (Grilo, (2017)). There is also benefits of getting group counselling which allow
to get better and effective way that may provide benefits and help in supporting and help to open
discuss about their feelings along with their concerns with random people who are also sharing
common experience.
Hospitalization- This is the one which allow to ensure about the individual weight loss
where they get suffer in severe terms and needed for the proper monitoring and hospitalisation.
This includes the severe weight loss which can resultant malnutrition, suicidal thoughts along
with behaviour, serious depression, high level anxiety and others. This is also needed for the
individual who is suffering from the serious physical or mental health complications like serious
depression, risk of suicide, heart disorders and others (Tecuta, (2021)). This can be the situation
in which there is need to fed patient through using the feeding tube or through an IV.
Here every treatment is effective that allow to get better and effective health about
possessing the good health. In this, Psychotherapy and nutritional counselling is highly effective
and allow to get better health for the individual. These are one of the best treatment for the eating
disorder that can provide better health impact on the individual which allow to get better and
effective health.
According to Zamira Rahim (2020), eating disorder characterised by the abnormal body weight
which can be developed within people due to getting fear of getting high body weight. This can
be effective and allow individual to take care of their body weight in such a way that this lead to
create a high impact on the individual through and their behaviour (Thompson, (2020)). In this,
individual think about how to prevent body weight and can help to reduce the extra amount of
body weight which can lead to create an impact on the individual health. In this, individual think
about their body shape and weight which influence them to avoid and restrict to eating which
may cause the loss in body weight than the average weight individual should possess (A new
anti-obesity coronavirus campaign is a nightmare for eating disorder sufferers, (2020)). There
are various symptoms which can be lead to create the situation of starvation. This may also
include the emotional and behavioural issues, ensure about the perception of the body weight
that can lead to fear about gaining weight and getting fat (Lewer & et. al., (2017)). There are

some physical symptoms that may include thin appearance, extreme weight loss, abnormal blood
counts, fatigue, insomnia, soft and downy hair, yellowish skin, low blood pressure, dehydration,
swelling of arm or legs and many more. Emotional and behavioural symptom may include
exercising excessively, severely restricting food intake through fasting and dieting (Wilksch,
(2018)). There are teenagers who are getting concern about their body weight and shape which
include mostly teenage girls where society is having the perception that particular body shape is
more effective and should be praised. This can allow to get better and effective way for getting
better shape and lead to develop the risk of eating disorder within them (Hage & et. al., (2021)).
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can conclude that eating disorder is one of the disorder which
can have high impact on the individual. This is effective and can lead to create the impact on
individual health. There is different negative health impact can be observed by the individual. To
deal with this, there is need to ensure about different therapy that can have high impact on the
people with eating disorder. There is also some effective treatment that can allow to get better
and effective health for the individual that can provide better health benefits and help to get over
through this disorder. In this essay, there is discussion about different diagnosis criteria which
are effective in identifying and ensure about the presence of disorder. There is also discussion
about different treatment of eating disorder which are effective and can help in gain better health.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aloi, (2017). Social cognition and emotional functioning in patients with binge eating
disorder. European Eating Disorders Review, 25(3), 172-178.
Goldschen & et. al., (2019). Navigating the university transition among women who self‐report
an eating disorder: A qualitative study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 52(7),
795-800.
Grilo, (2017). Psychological and behavioral treatments for binge-eating disorder. The Journal of
clinical psychiatry, 78(suppl 1), 0-0.
Hage & et. al., (2021). Burnout among staff on specialized eating disorder units in
Norway. Journal of Eating Disorders, 9(1), 1-10.
Lewer & et. al., (2017). Effects of a cognitive-behavioral exposure-based body image therapy for
overweight females with binge eating disorder: A pilot study. Journal of eating
disorders, 5(1), 1-12.
Lindstedt & et. al., (2018). A life put on hold: adolescents’ experiences of having an eating
disorder in relation to social contexts outside the family. Journal of multidisciplinary
healthcare, 11, 425.
Lydecker & et. al., (2017). Children of parents with BED have more eating behavior disturbance
than children of parents with obesity or healthy weight. International Journal of Eating
Disorders, 50(6), 648-656.
Martin Monzon & et. al., (2017). Grey matter volume in adolescents with anorexia nervosa and
associated eating disorder symptoms. European Journal of Neuroscience, 46(7), 2297-
2307.
Regan, (2017). Initial treatment seeking from professional health care providers for eating
disorders: A review and synthesis of potential barriers to and facilitators of “first
contact”. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(3), 190-209.
Ruddock, (2017). The development and validation of the Addiction-like Eating Behaviour
Scale. International Journal of Obesity, 41(11), 1710-1717.
Stice & et. al., (2018). An experimental therapeutics test of whether adding dissonance-induction
activities improves the effectiveness of a selective obesity and eating disorder prevention
program. International journal of obesity, 42(3), 462-468.
Tecuta, (2021). Irrational Beliefs and Their Role in Specific and Non-Specific Eating Disorder
Symptomatology and Cognitive Reappraisal in Eating Disorders. Journal of Clinical
Medicine, 10(16), 3525.
Thompson, (2020). Implementing family based treatment in a child and youth eating disorder
program: impact on admissions. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and
Health, 32(6).
Weinbach, (2018). Differences in emotion regulation difficulties across types of eating disorders
during adolescence. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 46(6), 1351-1358.
Wilksch, (2018). Media Smart‐Targeted: Diagnostic outcomes from a two‐country pragmatic
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What are the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa? (2019), [Online] Available
through https://www.medscape.com/answers/912187-165642/what-are-the-dsm-5-diagnostic-
criteria-for-anorexia-nervosa
A new anti-obesity coronavirus campaign is a nightmare for eating disorder sufferers, (2020),
[Online] Available through https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/13/health/uk-coronavirus-eating-
disorders-weight-intl-gbr-wellness/index.html