Eating Disorders
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What Are Eating Disorders?
An eating disorder involves much more than a diet. It is a relationship with food that becomes more important than everything else in that person's life—more important than God, parents, friends, and even the person's own health. Most of the behaviors occur in private—the individual does not want his or her behavior to be seen by his or her parents, friends, or anyone around him or her.
The CDC defines eating disorders as "psychological disorders characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior." The CDC also states that "Eating disorders often start in adolescence, and greater than 90% of cases occur among females...Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa affect as many as 3% of adolescent and young adult females..." The three most common disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. There are other eating disorders as well, including pica, rumination disorder, and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, but we will look mostly at the three most common. These disorders occur in both boys and girls and usually begin in adolescence.
Red Flags to Watch For
Skipping meals or making excuses for not eating
Adopting an overly restrictive vegetarian diet
Excessive focus on healthy eating
Making one's own meals rather than eating what the family eats
Withdrawing from normal social activities
Persistent worrying or complaining about being fat and talking about losing weight
Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws
Repeatedly eating large amounts of sweets or high-fat foods
Use of dietary supplements, laxatives, or herbal products for weight loss
Excessive exercise
Calluses on one's knuckles from inducing vomiting
Problems with loss of tooth enamel that may be a sign of repeated vomiting
Leaving during meals to use the toilet
Eating much more food in a meal or snack than is considered normal
Expressing depression, disgust, shame, or guilt about one's eating habits
Eating in secret
Anorexia Nervosa
Someone who suffers from anorexia nervosa is called an anorexic. Anorexics can starve themselves to the point of emaciation, which is the state of being extremely and dangerously thin. Anorexics can be so thin and take in so few calories that their bodies have to break down their muscles for nutrients. These individuals have an inaccurate mental picture of themselves, and they may even see themselves as being overweight. They may also exercise obsessively to make up for any bits of food they might happen to eat. Anorexics may also use vomiting and taking laxatives as additional methods to lose weight.
Bulimia Nervosa
Someone who suffers from bulimia nervosa is called a bulimic. Bulimics can exhibit similar behaviors to those of anorexics, such as excessive exercising, vomiting, and taking laxatives. The difference between anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa is food intake. Bulimics frequently binge on massive amounts of food and will sometimes consume large amounts of food in secret. Consuming large amounts of food in one sitting is called binging. (When you hear the term "binge-watch," this is a similar use of the wording, but it refers to watching a large amount of a TV show in one sitting.) Bulimics will typically then "purge" the food they have binged, which means that they rid their bodies of the food through behaviors such as making themselves vomit. Bulimics may appear to be of average body size or even a little overweight.
Binge Eating Disorder
An individual with binge eating disorder will binge eat without purging (vomiting). The lack of vomiting after eating is what differentiates binge eating disorder from bulimia nervosa. Binge eating disorder also does not include exercising or other means of losing weight after the consumption of a large amount of food. These individuals eat massive numbers of calories, generally within a two-hour period; again, they usually do this in private.
Complications of Eating Disorders
Significant medical problems
Depression and anxiety
Suicidal thoughts or behavior
Problems with growth and development
Social and relationship problems
Substance abuse disorders
Work and school issues
Death
National Institute of Mental Health: Eating Disorders
Click here to learn more about eating disorders.
Drag and drop the cards below to practice identifying the different types of eating disorders. (If you are having trouble viewing the cards below, or if they appear to be cut off, please click "View Full Screen.")
Eating disorders come in many different forms. Watch this video to watch this young woman's story about her eating disorder and how she learned to accept that she was "enough."