Eating disorders - understanding them, spotting the signs and supporting loved ones

An eating disorder is a condition where you use food to manage your feelings. Unhealthy eating behaviours may include eating too much or too little or worrying excessively about your weight or body shape.

Some statistics about eating disorders

Eating disorders affect up to 5% of the population. They can affect anyone but are most common in teenagers and young women and usually develop in adolescence and young adulthood. It is thought that this could be due to females comparing themselves to other women from a very early age and confessing to others about their anxiety over their weight and body shape.

Although eating disorders are most common in females, about 1 in 4 males have been found to also have an eating disorder. Men's problems are sometimes 'hidden' as excessive exercise and/ or going to the gym. A study in north America stated that there are probably more males with bulimia than females with anorexia.

Common eating disorders

The most common types of eating disorder are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder (BED), avoidant/ restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and other specified feeding and eating disorder (OSFED).

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where you feel the need to keep your weight as low as possible either by not eating enough food, exercising too much, or both.
Bulimia nervosa is where individuals binge eat and purge to prevent themselves gaining weight.
BED is where you eat large portions of food until you feel uncomfortably full.
ARFID is a fairly new eating disorder where the individual avoids certain types of food and only eat a limited variety.
OSFED is a term for eating disorders that don’t fit the expected symptoms for anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder. It accounts for the highest percentage of eating disorders.

The warning signs

It can be extremely difficult to identify if a loved one or friend has developed an eating disorder, but some warning signs to look out for include:

Dramatic weight loss or gain
Noticing how much or how little other people eat
Worrying about their weight and body shape
Going to the bathroom a lot after eating
Lying about how much food they’ve eaten, when they’ve eaten, or how much they weigh.
Eating too much or too little
Exercising a lot
Avoiding eating with others
Cutting food unto small pieces or eating very slowly
Wearing loose or baggy clothes to hide their weight.
Changes in their mood such as being withdrawn, anxious, or depressed.

Common factors linked to eating disorders

There is no single cause of eating problems, however, the following are some common factors:

Difficult life experiences such as abuse or the death of a loved one.
Major life changes such as puberty or moving school/house.
Getting bullied
Family issues
Social pressure such as social media
Physical and mental health problems

How to help a loved one diagnosed with an eating disorder

The first thing to remember is that every person is different and will need different things. That said, the points below will give you some ideas about what you could try to help.

1. Educate yourself about eating disorders and the specific type your loved one is struggling with.

2. Make them aware that there is professional help out there.

3. Try to be a good role model by eating a balanced diet and doing a healthy amount of exercise.

4. For people recovering from an eating disorder, mealtimes can be extremely stressful and triggering. The first thing to do is provide a calm environment. Act normal and relaxed as you sit at the table and begin eating. Stick to general topics of conversation, or words of encouragement and validate the person’s struggle. It's important to not mention weight, exercise, food or physical appearance as this can be distressing for your loved one.

5. For many individuals, the period immediately after a meal or snack can be the most stressful of all. Your goal is to help them through all of these overwhelming emotions such as disgust, guilt and anxiety. Make sure to keep an eye on them either going to the bathroom or attempting to exercise. It is also important to acknowledge small steps forward. Offering a distraction can be helpful after a meal, some possible distractions include:

Listening to music
Watching a film or tv series
Going shopping
Taking a shower
Reading a book
Playing games (cards, dominos, etc)
Listening to a podcast
Meditating

6. Some people suffering with eating disorders struggle to food shop due to the anxiety of things such as nutritional labels and may even feel overwhelmed with the abundance of food in supermarkets. You could offer to do the shopping for them or to go together for moral support. Online food shopping can also be helpful.

7. People with eating disorders may become withdrawn so you may need to make more of an effort to include them and to prevent them from isolating themselves. It's important to continue to invite them to group or family activities, but you may wish to consider social events that don’t revolve around food or exercise (for example, board games, arts and crafts, reading books, and listening to music together). Additionally, you could support them to try out new hobbies or return to hobbies they used to enjoy.

People with eating disorders may behave in ways that are out of character. They may get upset and try to resist any treatment offered to them. This is all part of the disorder and it's important to remain patient and caring to support your loved one through their difficulties.

For more about eating disorders and body image issues, download our free booklet about eating disorders and body image issues >

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