Anorexia and Bulima Nervosa Anorexia nervosa is a disorder of self-starvation which manifests itself in an extreme aversion to food and can cause psychological, endocrine and gynecological problems. It almost exclusively affects adolescent white girls, with symptoms involving a refusal to eat, large weight loss, a bizarre preoccupation with food, hyperactivity, a distorted body image and cessation of menstruation. Although the symptoms can be corrected if the patient is diagnosed and treated in time, about 10-25 percent of anorexia nervosa patients die, usually after losing a least half their normal body weight. Anorexia nervosa patients typically come from w