Final answer:
Anorexic individuals use food as a means of control to deal with complex psychological and social issues. The treatment involves gaining control over eating habits and often requires long-term management due to the persistence of disordered eating behaviors.
Step-by-step explanation:
Anorexic individuals often use food as a means of control. Anorexia nervosa is a complex eating disorder characterized by extreme restriction of food intake due to an obsessive fear of gaining weight, exercising excessively to lose weight, and a misperception of one's body weight and shape – often aligned with body dysmorphic disorder. The goal of treatment for anorexia nervosa is to regain control over eating habits, establish a normal eating pattern, and achieve a healthy weight, yet many continue to struggle with normal eating behaviors throughout their lives.
Risk factors for developing anorexia may include environmental pressures such as cultural ideals of thinness, tight parental control over eating habits, and personal factors such as a fragile sense of self-identity. Anorexic people use food as a means of control rather than reward, punishment, or gaining popularity. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by severely restricted food intake, an obsessive fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of one's body size. People with anorexia often use food as a way to exert control over their lives and their bodies.