The bones of young girls suffering from anorexia nervosa have fat in the marrow, according to a new study from Children's Hospital Boston.
- Dr. Kirsten Ecklund and her colleagues performed MRIs on the knees of 20 girls with anorexia and 20 healthy girls whose average age was 16 years old.
- Radiologists reading their charts did not know which girls were in which group, and found that the anorexic girls had increased fat content or "yellow marrow" in their bones.
One theory is that the malnutrition caused by anorexia changes hormone levels, which in turn causes the bone marrow to stop producing bone-producing cells but to form fat instead. This may explain why people with anorexia lose bone mass. It is also known that many people with anorexia develop osteoporosis and are prone to fractures.
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by low food intake. An anorexic's weight can drop to a starvation level, but he yet perceives himself as overweight.
This study appears in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
Labels: anorexia, health, research
Posted By: Jane St. Clair