 Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme food restriction, low body weight, and the fear of becoming fat.Pubertal and post-pubertal females with anorexia often experience amenorrhea, or the loss of menstrual periods, due to the extreme weight loss these individuals face.Although amenorrhea was a required criterion for a diagnosis of anorexia in the DSM-IV, it was dropped in the DSM-5 due to its exclusive nature, as male, post-menopause women, or individuals who do not menstruate for other reasons would fail to meet this criterion.