Appendix C
SIGNS OF AN EATING DISORDER
& HOW TO HELP A FRIEND
People struggling with disordered eating may exhibit some of the following
signs and symptoms, depending on the type of eating disorder:
• Preoccupation with weight, food, calories, fat grams and dieting
• Frequent comments about feeling “fat” or overweight
• Dramatic weight loss or rapid fluctuations in weight
• Creating schedules or rituals to make time for binge sessions
• Dressing in layers or baggy clothes to hide weight loss or body shape
• Distorted view of body weight or shape
• Over–emphasis of weight or shape on self–evaluation
• Refusing to eat certain foods, or restricting whole categories of food (e.g. no fat, etc.)
• Complaints about constipation, abdominal pain, cold intolerance, lethargy or
excess energy
• Growth of a fine, downy hair, called lanugo, on face, arms or legs
• Denying feeling hungry, skipping meals or taking small portions at meals
• Food rituals (e.g. eating foods in certain orders, excessive chewing, rearranging
food on plate)
• Cooking meals for others without eating any, or secretly binging on it later
• Consistently making excuses to avoid meals or situations involving food or concern
about eating in public
• Excessive, rigid exercise regimen—despite weather, fatigue, illness, or injury; the need to
“burn off” calories taken in
• Withdrawing from friends and becoming more isolated and secretive
• Loss of menstrual period in post–puberty females
• Feelings of being ineffective, need for control, inflexible thinking or overly restrained
initiative and emotional expression
• Evidence of binge eating, including disappearance of large amounts of food in short
periods of time or lots of empty wrappers and containers
• Stealing or hoarding food
• Periods of uncontrolled eating beyond the point of feeling comfortably full
• Engaging in sporadic fasting or repetitive dieting
• Evidence of purging behaviors, including frequent trips to the bathroom after meals,
signs and/or smells of vomiting, packages of laxatives
• Drinks excessive amounts of water, or uses excessive amounts of mouthwash,
mints and gum
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