1. A general lack or loss of appetite for food; especially, when caused by a disease: Doctors are concerned because too often anorexia is a serious medical condition in which the patient chooses to abstain from food or consumes a minimum of calories that too often result in hospitalization or premature death.

Apparently, anorexia affects girls or young women more often than males.

2. No appetite; also, a shortened term for "anorexia nervosa": Emily's cousin, who is a pediatrician, specializes in therapy for anorexia and works with young women who are unable to overcome their anxieties about food.