The signs that your child may have an eating disorder

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

What should parents look for to determine whether or not their child or teen may have an eating disorder? Whether it is Anorexia, Bulimia, or Binge-Eating Disorder, all of us lately seem to worry about what we are eating. We all worry about how we look in our clothes, however children or teenagers often become obsessed over their physical appearance.

For individuals with an eating disorder, their physical appearance goes way beyond simple worry, it actually consumes them and it seems to be all that they think about. At the very beginning stages of an eating disorder, it is often difficult  for parents to determine exactly what is an eating disorder and what is not. As an eating disorder progresses however, the signs become very clear if you know what you are looking for.

The signs of an eating disorder are as follows:

Often a red flag that a child/teen has an eating disorder is when they restrict their food intake. They skip meals all together or say frequently that they are not hungry. The child or teenager takes a bite of their food and then says that they are “full” on a consistent basis.

Another sign to look for is when they start to use or abuse diet-pills or when they will only eat foods that are low in calories and count the calories in all of the foods that are being consumed.

In individuals that are binging (gorging on large amounts of food in a short period of time), which is seen in Anorexia, Binge-Eating/Purging Type, Bulimia, and also in Binge-Eating Disorder, these individuals appear to eat normally when they are in front of others, but they often will eat and gorge themselves in secret or eat very late at night. Look for wrappers, containers, empty food boxes that may be hidden around the house, under their bed, or in the garbage. They are binging and then trying to hide the foods that they have eaten.

For purging behaviors, what a person can look for is when you seen a person with an eating disorder going out of their way to burn off all of the calories they have just eaten. Individuals with any eating disorder usually ask to go to the bathroom immediately after eating or they want to go “work out” to burn those calories off.

If the person with an eating disorder is more inventive, they will often run the water at the sink or tub to drown out the sounds of vomiting and they will use mints, mouthwash, or chew gum to disguise the smell.

The hallmark symptom of individuals with an eating distorted is a distorted self-image. They are consumed with how they look and appear to others. They try to disguise weight loss by wearing clothes that are too big for them.

The most common signs/symptoms of an eating disorder are weight loss, avoiding going out with friends/family to eat at a restaurant, use of laxatives or diet pills, constantly “on a diet”, exercises or work outs incessantly, disappears to the bathroom after every meal, as well as food items “missing” from the house.

If you observe these signs/symptoms in a friend or family member, they may indeed have an eating disorder. Professional help is recommended for individuals with an eating disorder and your concerns over their health should be presented to them in a tactful and caring manner.

For more info: In Gainesville, FL , the University of Florida-Eating Disorders program, is available only to University of Florida students that are currently enrolled. 

Other outpatient resources in Gainesville are: Nutrition Therapy Associates

In the Ocala, FL area, an eating disorder support group starts September 14th at The Vines Hospital of Ocala. Information regarding the group can be obtained through Becca Jellis, support group coordinator. E-mail address: Bec0221@aol.com

Inpatient treatment programs available in FL are: Fairwinds Treatment Center and Rader Programs

Information and support can also be obtained through ANAD-National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders