Eating Disorders
Your Guide to the Signs and Symptoms  

Eating disorders occur when a persons concerns and worries about their weight, shape and body image impact upon their self esteem and feelings of self worth so much that it starts to affect their quality of life and health.

These powerful feelings play out in the sufferers life through the way they use food.

There are two main recognised medical diagnoses of eating disorders, namely

• Anorexia Nervosa and
• Bulimia Nervosa,

and several others that currently fall into the category called ‘EDNOS’, which stands for ‘Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified’.

However, although there are specific differences between the diagnoses, such eating problems also share much in common such as a pre-occupation with body shape and weight, which is connected with the persons feelings of low self esteem.

picture by Rob Slva flickr.com

The next few pages will provide a brief introduction to the signs and symptoms of each of the eating disorders.

If you are concerned that your eating habits are interfering with your life, or if you are worried that someone you care for may be suffering in these ways, then please speak to your medical doctor for professional help and advise.

You can also view our page on eating disorders help and treatment to find more sources of support.

• Anorexia nervosa: Someone with anorexia strives to keep their weight as low as possible, often to the point of serious risk to their health and even to the point of threatening their life. The sufferer is pre-occupied with thoughts about body weight and shape, either experienced as a fear of fatness, or of viewing extreme thinness as an ideal to strive for. The persons BMI (Body Mass Index) will be below 17.5……
  
  
• Bulimia Nervosa: This is characterized by the sufferer alternating between binge eating and then trying to get rid of the excess calories by fasting, vomiting, using laxatives or other ‘compensatory’ measures such as excessive exercise……

• ‘EDNOS’ (Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified): This is a sort of ‘umbrella’ diagnosis for eating problems that do not meet all the criteria for a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. For instance, someone may show all the signs of anorexia but still be within the ‘normal’ range for BMI. Or another person may demonstrate bulimic behaviors but not so frequently as to meet the official diagnostic criteria. Other categories that could come under EDNOS would be:

• Binge Eating (BED): This is when someone has recurring episodes of eating unusually large quantities of food but does not necessarily try to compensate for this through vomiting or other measures as happens in Bulimia.
  
  An important point with binge eating is that it is accompanied by a feeling of loss of control and is usually followed by extreme feelings of distress, and this marks it out as significantly different from someone who simply over eats on a regular basis……
  
  
• Compulsive Eating Disorder, Compulsive Overeating, or Overeating Disorder are really all terms for similar patterns of behaviour where someone feels compelled to overeat even when they do not feel hungry.
  
  It is similar to Binge Eating regarding the persons sense shame, guilt and extreme low self esteem. However, with compulsive eating illness, the overeating behaviour may not happen in definable episodes, but occurs more as a regular continual pattern.
  
  Most people who are compulsive eaters are seriously overweight, and sufferers may need professional support to ensure long-term recovery……
  
  
• Orthorexia Nervosa: This was a term coined by Dr S Bratman in his book ‘Health Food Junkies - Orthorexia Nervosa’. This describes a pattern of behaviour where the individual displays an extreme concern with only eating perceived ‘healthy’ foods. It is not a recognised medical term. The behaviour could be seen as a type of obsessive compulsive disorder, or they may be using an apparent pre-occupation with heath foods as a way of coping with a fear of food similar to some paterns in anorexia……
  
  
• Night Eating Syndrome (NES): This descibes a form of binge eating where the individual eats large quantities of food late in the evening and into the night. The person may eat over half their daily calories in this way, often waking in the night and finding they cannot get back to sleep unless they have something to eat. The sufferer therefore also has insomnia and resulting extreme tiredness to deal with as well. This condition was first decribed in 1955 by an American psychiatrist, Professor Albert Stnkard……

So if you are concerned that you or someone you care for may be suffering from the types of eating disorders described here, please tell your doctor about your concerns.

Read through the rest of our website to learn more about eating disorders, and visit our pages on finding help and treatment. With the right information and support you can be sure you will find recovery and relief.