Persistent Perfectionists:
The Idea of Perfection Remains Even After Eating Disorders Treatment

Anorexia Nervosa

It makes a certain kind of sense that folks with anorexia tend to be perfectionistic and obsessive. After all, they are diligently striving for a perfect body; however distorted their ideals may have become.

Now comes word that this perfectionism persists for at least a year after anorexics have recovered--suggesting that perfectionism is not a side effect of anorexia but a personality trait that puts folks at risk for developing the disorder, says Walter Kaye, M.D., a psychiatrist at the University of Pittsburgh.

If perfectionism does precede anorexia, it means that prevention programs may be more effective if they focus their efforts on perfectionistic teens. And for anorexia, in particular, every ounce of prevention is worthwhile, notes Kaye: "It has the highest death rate of any psychiatric disorder."

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