Recently labeled as the disease of modern society, anorexia nervosa commonly affects young women worldwide. Statistics indicate that anorexia nervosa has the highest prevalence among women with ages between 15 and 20, although even 5 year-old girls have been diagnosed with this type of eating disorder after following vegetarian diets and even restricting their food intake. These are very disturbing facts, considering the damage that anorexia can cause to the frail bodies of teenagers and adolescents.
Although in present anorexia nervosa can be effectively treated and its generated physical and psychological damage can be reversed, most young women are diagnosed with the disease long after they develop complications. Poor nutrition renders anorexic girls very susceptible to a wide range of physical affections. In time, girls with anorexia can develop disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, anemia, amenorrhea and in many cases, osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disorder of the skeletal system which causes the deterioration of bone tissues. Although this disorder is usually developed by the elderly, the majority of anorexic girls are affected by osteoporosis before the age...