Eating Disorders - Signs and Symptoms

Q. Are there signs/symptoms I would notice if my teenager or someone else I know is struggling with an eating disorder? 

A. Early detection of an eating disorder may prevent a teenager from years of significant misery and disruption in his or her life. Take a moment and think about your teenager's behavior and the following signs of a possible eating disorder: 

• Preoccupation with weight, food, calories and dieting 
• Exercise is an excessive, rigid activity despite fatigue, illness, injury or weather 
• Constant complaints about being fat in spite of normal or thin appearance 
• Frequent comparison of body image/diet with others 
• Unnatural facial hair growth in girls due to malnutrition 
• Withdrawal from activities because of weight and shape concerns 
• Anxiety about being fat which does not diminish with weight loss 
• Evidence of self-induced vomiting 
• Messes and smells in the bathroom 
• Disappearing to the bathroom after meals 
• Swelling of the glands near the ear which creates a "chipmunk" appearance (caused by inflammation of the saliva glands) 
• Evidence (wrappers, coupons, advertisements, etc.) of the use of laxatives, diuretics, diet pills, enemas 
• Consumption of large amounts of food inconsistent with the person's weight, or hoarding/stealing food 
• Alternating periods of restrictive dieting and overeating sometimes accompanied by dramatic weight gain or loss 
• Cessation or erratic menstrual cycles 
• Obsession with appearance as a definition of self which is often accompanied by perfectionist thinking 
• Fainting, lightheadedness or dizziness not explained by any other medical problem 
• Unusual redness and puffiness around the eyes caused by purging, binge eating and overeating 
• Poor dental hygiene, bad breath, dryness of the mouth area and cracked lips, caused by purging and dehydration 
• Abnormal sleeping patterns 
• Hyperactivity 
• Refusal to eat meals with family 
• Food rituals (such as eating food in rigid sequence, foods cannot touch each other, eating a very limited variety of foods, cutting food into small pieces, blotting foods with napkins to remove fat)