When Pro Ana Can Result in the Mental Disorder of Anorexia Nervosa versus Simply Being Underweight |
Posted: September 28, 2016 |
Pro ana is a lifestyle associated with losing weight until a person is skinny, and the goal is often to be as skinny as a model or actress who is so thin, that ideal person could even be thought of as anorexic. Some seek information about pro ana on pro chat rooms, such as http://chatzy.com/proana and others. But when someone embraces the pro ana lifestyle, and if that person actually becomes underweight, is that person then anorexic? The answer is: sometimes. To determine whether an underweight person is actually suffering from the mental disorder, anorexia nervosa, a licensed therapist is needed to provide the official diagnosis. But there are guidelines, published in the DSM-V, which can help determine whether a person has anorexia or is just really thin. To have anorexia nervosa, a person must first be underweight, per the DSM-V. There are four categories of anorexia nervosa, which are: mild, moderate, severe, and extreme. Mild anorexia can be diagnosed when a person’s Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measure of height and weight, is between 17.0 and 18.5. Moderate anorexia is generally reserved for those with a BMI between 16.0 and 16.9. Severe anorexia is generally reserved for those with a BMI between 15.0 and 15.9. Anyone below 15.0 BMI and meeting the other criteria of anorexia nervosa would be classified as having extreme anorexia. So if a person was a normal BMI (between 18.5 and 24.9) and lost weight with Pro Ana methods, until the person had a BMI of 15.9, would that person then be given a diagnosis of “severe anorexia”? Possibly. The criteria for anorexia nervosa include the following (per the DSM-V): A) “Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements, leading to a significantly low body weight in the context of age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health. Significantly low weight is defined as a weight that is less than minimally normal or, for children and adolescents, less than that minimally expected.” B) “Intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat, or persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, even though at a significantly low weight.” C) “Disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body weight.” Therefore, having a low BMI is necessary for “a significantly low body weight”, and that describes the criterion for A) above. The second criterion, B), is basically a strong fear of gaining weight, which most people don’t have. And the third criterion, C), is simply not seeing oneself as thin, even though the person is underweight. Meeting the second and third criteria is also necessary for a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, in addition to the first criterion. Oftentimes, it’s unclear whether someone actually has a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa or is simply “crash dieting”. In this situation, it’s best to consider seeing a therapist who can assess one’s situation more accurately. For more information, you can purchase the book for additional information: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LGZ5KJ8 (which has the entire series on this topic) or visit
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