Eating Disorders Warning Signs
This resource discusses the warning signs of eating disorders.
Preview Points
- It will help to know what the warning signs are of eating disorders.
- This addresses the warning signs for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Contents
ANOREXIA NERVOSA (DENYING ONESELF OF FOOD) WARNING SIGNS:
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- Dramatic weight loss
- Preoccupation with weight, food, calories and dieting
- Refusal to eat certain foods, progressing to restrictions against whole categories of food
- Frequent comments about feeling “fat”
- Anxiety about weight gain or being “fat”
- Denial of hunger
- Development of food rituals
- Consistent excuses to avoid mealtimes or situations involving food
- Excessive, rigid exercise regimens—despite weather, fatigue, illness or injury
- Withdrawal from usual friends and activities
BULIMIA NERVOSA (BINGEING AND PURGING) WARNING SIGNS:
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- Evidence of binge eating, including the disappearance of large amounts of food in short periods of time
- Evidence of purging behaviors, including frequent trips to the bathroom after meals, signs or smells of vomiting, and the presence of laxatives
- Excessive, rigid exercise regimen
- Unusual swelling of cheeks or jaw area
- Calluses on the back of the hands and knuckles from self-induced vomiting
- Discoloration or staining of the teeth
- Creation of lifestyle schedules or rituals to make time for binge and purge sessions
- Withdrawal from friends and activities
Concluding Points
- People may see signs of potential disordered eating in others by paying close attention to physical signs.
- There are some mental attitudes that may be linked to disordered eating as well.