People who have anorexia try to keep their weight as low as possible by not eating enough food or exercising too much, or both. This can make them very ill because they start to starve.

They often have a distorted image of their bodies, thinking they are fat even when they are underweight.

Men and women of any age can get anorexia, but it's most common in young women and typically starts in the mid-teens.

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Signs and symptoms of anorexia include:

• if you're under 18, your weight and height being lower than expected for your age
• if you're an adult, having an unusually low body mass index (BMI)
• missing meals, eating very little or avoiding eating any foods you see as fattening
• believing you are fat when you are a healthy weight or underweight
• taking medicine to reduce your hunger (appetite suppressants)
• your periods stopping (in women who have not reached menopause) or not starting (in younger women and girls)
• physical problems, such as feeling lightheaded or dizzy, hair loss or dry skin

Some people with anorexia may also make themselves sick, do an extreme amount of exercise, or use medicine to help them poo (laxatives) or to make them pee (diuretics) to try to stop themselves gaining weight from any food they do eat.

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