Anorexia nervosa is a condition in which a person loses an unhealthy amount of weight on purpose by dieting, sometimes along with excessive exercise, binge eating, or purging behaviours. People with anorexia nervosa have an intense fear of gaining weight and a disturbed body image (such as thinking they are fat even when they are very underweight). Early diagnosis and treatment could prevent, or at least reduce, the risk of these complications.”The researchers studied 255 girls around 15 years old who were hospitalized for anorexia nervosa. They measured their height at the time of admission, discharge and at adult height and found it was lower than expected. Adult height was significantly shorter than expected when compared to the genetic potential according to the average of the patient’s mother and father’s heights.

Source: Hindustan Times August 26, 2020 08:47 UTC