Eating disorders are psychological conditions characterized by unhealthy, obsessive, or disordered eating habits. Eating disorders come with both emotional and physical symptoms and include anorexia nervosa (voluntary starvation), bulimia nervosa (binge-eating followed by purging), binge-eating disorder (binge-eating without purging), and other or unspecified eating disorders (disordered eating patterns that do not fit into another category).
Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders
Eating disorders involve disturbances in how individuals eat and perceive their body and weight. But those disturbances can manifest in very different ways. In some cases they can be obvious, such as dramatic weight loss or refusing to eat. In other cases they can be subtle, such as developing rigid routines around meals—only eating specific foods or at specific times—or beginning to exercise obsessively. Still in others, signs of the disorder can be hidden, such as going to the restroom after meals in the case of bulimia or eating in private in the case of binge-eating disorder.
Mental health symptoms can also emerge from or be exacerbated by the condition. People with eating disorders may become more withdrawn, avoiding people or activities they previously enjoyed, or they may struggle with mood swings and anxiety. Although it can be difficult to discuss, recognizing an eating disorder early on can help the person seek the help they need to recover.
For more, see Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders .
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