anorexia nervosa

noun

anorexia ner·vo·sa | \ -(ˌ)nər-ˈvō-sə

, -zə \

Definition of anorexia nervosa

: a serious disorder in eating behavior that is characterized especially by a pathological fear of weight gain leading to faulty eating patterns, malnutrition, and usually excessive weight loss and that occurs most commonly in young women in their teens and early twenties

Examples of anorexia nervosa in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There is a spectrum, says Maine: On one end is eating intuitively without fear or judgment; on the other are eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or some combination of all of them. — Stephanie Dolgoff, Good Housekeeping, "What Is Disordered Eating — and Is It Different From an Eating Disorder?," 26 Feb. 2021 The main symptom of anorexia nervosa is a significant weight loss—usually around 15% of a person's body weight, according to Vazzana. — Colleen Murphy, Health.com, "The Different Types of Eating Disorders—What They Are and What You Need to Know About Them," 24 Feb. 2021 Born in New York City in 1943, Glück struggled with anorexia nervosa as a teenager and young adult. — Nora Mcgreevy, Smithsonian Magazine, "American Poet Louise Glück Wins Nobel Prize in Literature," 8 Oct. 2020 The initiative aims to include 100,000 people with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. — Jennifer Couzin-frankel, Science | AAAS, "Rethinking anorexia: Biology may be more important than culture, new studies reveal," 9 Apr. 2020 Lynn Slawsky, who now is the executive director of ANAD, said most medical doctors in the 1970s didn’t recognize anorexia nervosa as a disease that needed special care because it was regarded as rare. — Karen Berkowitz, chicagotribune.com, "Highland Park nurse Vivian Meehan, who put national spotlight on eating disorders in 1970s, dies at age 94," 8 Nov. 2019 Even without an official diagnosis, orthorexia can cause permanent damage reminiscent of anorexia nervosa or bulimia -- increased risks of malnutrition and heart disease, negatively affected cognition and fertility, and a weaker immune system. — Eden David And, ABC News, "Social media exposure may exacerbate eating disorder," 27 Feb. 2020 The most common eating disorders, Mayo Clinic says, are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. — Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, "Miss America 2020 Camille Schrier 'chose not to compete' until swimsuit portion was axed," 21 Dec. 2019 The three most common types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. — Mayo Clinic News Network, chicagotribune.com, "Eating disorders can affect people of all ages," 18 Oct. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anorexia nervosa.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

12 Mar 2021

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“Anorexia nervosa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anorexia%20nervosa. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.

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More Definitions for anorexia nervosa

anorexia nervosa

noun

anorexia ner·vo·sa | \ -(ˌ)nər-ˈvō-sə, -zə

Medical Definition of anorexia nervosa

: a serious eating disorder that is characterized especially by a pathological fear of weight gain leading to faulty eating patterns, malnutrition, and usually excessive weight loss and that occurs most commonly in young women in their teens and early twenties

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