An 18-year-old girl from Kerala's Kannur died after battling the severe eating disorder Anorexia Nervosa, which saw her following an extreme diet of no food and just water. Sreenanda, who hails from Koothuparamba in Kannur, was on ventilator support for days at a private hospital before she died.
The teen, an undergraduate student, had been battling the eating disorder issue for some time and was under treatment but her debilitating condition left her starving. Dr Nagesh Prabhu, a physician at the Thalassery Co-operative Hospital who treated her, told onmanorama that her worrying eating habits came to notice around six months ago.
"She was almost starving and was on a water diet," Dr Prabhu added. He said the girl and her family were advised by the doctors who treated her to seek immediate psychiatric help to fix the issue but "weren't aware of its seriousness and downplayed it as a condition of a youngster not having enough food".
The doctor added that Sreenanda's sodium and sugar levels plummeted beyond correction, causing her death. "Patients eventually lose their sense of hunger in the case of Anorexia," the doctor said.
Reports added that Sreenanda used to avoid consuming food, causing issues with her digestive system. Her relatives said she was extremely averse to gaining weight and followed random diet videos from YouTube.
What is Anorexia Nervosa?
Anorexia Nervosa is a potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterised by the inability to maintain a minimally normal weight, a devastating fear of weight gain. This will lead to relentless dietary habits that prevent weight gain and extreme body dysmorphia.
Sreenanda's death has shed light on Anorexia Nervosa and its prevalence among third-world countries. Earlier, the eating disorder was associated mostly with Western countries, but of late, the condition is seen in India too. Surveys conducted by licensed therapists report that the prevalence of eating disorders among the Indian population is 2-3% with a higher prevalence in women.
Speedy diagnosis of this disorder is crucial to recovery and to prevent mortality.
