Common symptoms include:
– Inadequate food intake leading to significant weight loss
– Intense fear of weight gain, obsession with size and very restricted eating patterns
– A relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a healthy weight
– A distorted body image, including denial of the seriousness of the illness

Anorexia is categorized into two subtypes – the restricting type and the binge-eating and purging type. Individuals with the restricting type lose weight solely through diet; while those with binge-eating/purging type may binge on large quantities of food or eat very little, and then purge using activities like vomiting, taking laxatives or exercising excessively.