This term means a "loss of appetite," especially when prolonged, and came into English in the 1620s from Latin usage, based on Greek stems (a [no] + orexis [appetite]). Anorexia generally leads to loss of weight due to a of loss of appetite; anorexia nervosa is an appetite disorder associated with severe weight loss. Eating disorders of this type and those associated with compulsive eating are, in some ways, behavioral equivalents of drug abuse.

See Also

Overeating and Other Excessive Behaviors)