"Really, doc, I'm fine. I just don’t want to eat anything that will corrode my arteries and give me a heart attack."

A 15 year old boy named Michael sat in a hospital bed playing video games and munching on pita bread. Even though he was young boy he had the characteristics of an old wise man. His skin was gray, his hair was falling out of his head, and his muscles were nowhere to be found. Michael did not want to eat anything that would corrode his arteries and give him a heart attack. He had said, "Really, doc, I'm fine. I just don’t want to eat anything that will corrode my arteries and give me a heart attack." Many doctors that worked on Michael believed that he was suffering from the disease, anorexia nervosa, which was caused from the self-imposed starvation to the point that it harms one's physical and mental health.

            Anorexia has been associated with teenage girls; however, nowadays more and more boys are experiencing anorexic tendencies, due to sports or other reasons. An example is how many boys in wrestling have to greatly watch what they consume so as they meet the very strict weight policies and qualify for their fight or race. This creates an obsessive relationship with food that later leads to psychological problems. Anorexia can also be caused by other triggers such as losing a family member; such was the case for Michael. Six months before he was admitted to the hospital his grandfather, who was overweight, had died in front of Michael while they were playing checkers. After that Michael had studiously avoided all foods containing fat. His diet was composed of entirely water, slices of fat-free turkey and pita bread. After convincing Michael to begin drinking high caloric milkshakes he was discharged from the hospital. However, he soon went back to his old ways and actually ended up passing away due to cardiac arrest. However, an autopsy revealed clean and open arteries with no cholesterol blockage. It turned out that his heart was shrunken and wasted due to the fact that he was malnourished and his heart was not able to function anymore.

            This was a very unfortunate way to pass away. However, I believe that anorexia is much more of a psychological disorder where food is simply the enemy due to a trigger such as viewing a perfect girl in a magazine, or like Michael witnessing the death of a loved one. I believe that anorexia is definitely not a disorder that just takes a couple weeks in the hospital being force-fed; I believe it takes months and even years to grow out of the distorted mindset they are in.