1. (18 pts)The mother of a 17 year old girl brings her daughter to the doctor af
ID: 3165920 • Letter: 1
Question
1. (18 pts)The mother of a 17 year old girl brings her daughter to the doctor after she experiences a number of fainting spells and lethargy. The mother states that her daughter eats practically nothing and is obsessed with exercise and losing weight. Her daughter states that she feels fat if she eats more. The girl is 5'6" and weighs 90 pounds. Physical examination shows loose skin folds and an abnormally low percentage of body fat. A. 7 pts Explain why she has an abnormally low percentage of body fat. What 3 tests would you recommend to confirm this and what results are you expecting from these tests? Explain why you expect these results.Explanation / Answer
The girl is suffering from a severe eating disorder characterized by a distorted body image that leads to restricted eating, over exercise and other behaviors that prevents a person from gaining weight or maintaining a healthy weight known as Anorexia Nervosa. This disorder can begin with persistent restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight in context of what is minimally expected for age, sex, and physical health due to an intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat. She is having Restrictor type of Anorexia Nervosa in which an individual severely limits the intake of food, especially carbohydrates and fat containing (energy giving) foods. That results in significantly low body weight. Inability to accurately assess weight, size, or shape and seeing oneself as fat, even though underweight is one of the important symptoms of this disorder. Dry skin, lethargy, dizziness, fatigue, abnormally low percentage of body fat due to severely limited the intake of food, especially carbohydrates and fat containing (energy giving) foods. are the most common physical symptoms associated with anorexia nervosa.
Three examinations and tests generally include:
1. A urinalysis
2. Lab tests which may include a complete blood count (CBC) and more-specialized blood tests to check electrolytes and protein. Patients with anorexia nervosa have a number of abnormalities in endocrine function. So hormones level should also be checked.
3. Psychological evaluation in which a mental health professional will likely ask about your thoughts, feelings and eating habits.
Result of lab test or complete blood count (CBC) may be Anemia because it causes weakness, pale skin, and general tiredness (fatigue).
More-specialized blood tests to check electrolytes and protein may results in showing Kidney function problems, often caused by ongoing dehydration. Usually you replace the lost liquid by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. If you lose too much water or don’t drink and eat enough, you can get dehydrated.
Mental health problem (such as depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder) to happen with an eating disorder
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