Red Flags to Identify Eating Disorder in Your Loved One

Adolescent eating disorders such as anorexia (starvation to achieve the ‘ideal body’ weight though the person may already be at it), bulimia (excessive eating and purging), binge eating disorder, and compulsive overeating are concerns every parent hopes to avoid. An eating disorder begins with emotional health problem that escalate into a mental health illness that has severe physical consequences. It is not as simple as a desire for slimness.

Red Flags for Identification of Eating Disorder

A sudden change to vegetarianism, as a means of cutting out food groups, fat or calories.

Clothes that suddenly start to fit more loosely followed with negative comments about self-image or the body.

Extra time in the bathroom, particularly after meals, with evidence of vomiting in the bathroom or elsewhere.

A drop in weight noted at home, at school, or in the clinician’s office.

Lack of appropriate weight gain at a time when the child is growing.