Typically eating disorders first develop in adolescence when the body undergoes the normal increases in body fat associated with puberty. It is important to be aware of the various warning signs. Your friend may be suffering from an eating disorder that requires professional help, from a nutritionist to therapist to psychologist to treatment center. Prompt treatment significantly improves the chances of recovery.
Warning Signs of Anorexia Nervosa
- Dramatic weight loss
- Preoccupation with weight, food, calories, fat grams, and dieting
- Refusal to eat certain foods, progressing to restrictions against whole categories of food (e.g. no carbohydrates, etc.)
- Frequent comments about feeling “fat” or overweight despite weight loss
- Anxiety about gaining weight or being “fat”
- Denial of hunger
- Development of food rituals (e.g. eating foods in certain orders, excessive chewing, rearranging food on a plate, cutting food into very small pieces)
- Consistent excuses to avoid mealtimes or situations involving food, using the phrases, “I ate a big meal earlier so I’m not hungry” or “I’m not hungry now so I will just eat later“
- Excessive, rigid exercise regimen, despite weather conditions, fatigue, illness, or injury: an obsessive need to “burn off” calories that have been consumed
- Withdrawal from usual friends and activities
In general, behaviors and attitudes indicating that weight loss, dieting, and control of food are becoming primary concerns
Warning Signs of Bulimia
- Evidence of binge-eating, including the disappearance of large amounts of food in short periods of time or the existence of wrappers indicating the consumption of large amounts of food
- Evidence of purging behaviors, including frequent trips to the bathroom after meals, signs and/or smells of vomiting, presence of wrappers or packages of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas
- Excessive, rigid exercise regimen, despite weather, fatigue, illness, or injury: the need to “burn off” calories that have been consumed
- Unusual swelling of the cheeks or jaw area
- Red and watery eyes after a trip to the bathroom
- Calluses on the back of the hands and knuckles from self-induced vomiting
- Discoloration or staining of the teeth
- Creation of complex lifestyle schedules or rituals to make time for binge-and-purge sessions
- Withdrawal from usual friends and activities
In general, behaviors and attitudes indicating that weight loss, dieting, and control of food are becoming primary concerns
Warning Signs of Binge Eating Disorder
- Dramatic weight gain or obesity
- The disappearance of large amounts of food in short periods of time or the existence of wrappers indicating the consumption of large amounts of food
- Frequent episodes of eating large quantities of food in short periods of time
- Feeling out of control over eating behavior
- Feeling ashamed or disgusted by the behavior
- Eating when not hungry
- Eating in secret
- Withdrawal from usual friends and activities
In general, behaviors and attitudes indicating that weight loss, dieting, and control of food are becoming primary concerns
