Eating disorders are often misunderstood as a matter of choice. The truth is that they are serious and debilitating mental health conditions. Eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa, show a higher mortality rate than other mental illnesses. The starvation resulting from untreated anorexia can impact the body in severe and even fatal ways. The disease can also lead to devastating complications in a patient’s mental health; the second most common cause of death among people with anorexia is suicide.

Now, a global team of researchers led by the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute has found that individuals with anorexia show notable reductions in three critical measures of the brain.

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