What is an eating disorder?

An eating disorder is a condition that causes your child to have unhealthy thoughts and behaviours about food and body image. Teens with eating disorders often base how they feel about themselves on how much they weigh and how they look.

Common eating disorders include:

• Anorexia. Teens with this condition limit how much food they eat. If your child has anorexia they can become dangerously underweight.
• Bulimia. Teens with this condition eat a large amount of food in a short time. Then they do something to get rid of the food, like making themselves vomit, so they won't gain weight.
• Binge eating disorder, or compulsive overeating. Teens with this condition eat a large amount of food in a short time and might feel out of control when eating. They do this on a regular basis for several months.

What are the symptoms?

If your child has an eating disorder, they often deny that they have one. They may not see or believe that they do. But there are some feelings and actions that are common with each type of eating disorder.

If your child has anorexia, they may:

• Weigh much less than is healthy or normal for their body.
• Be very afraid of gaining weight.
• Think they are overweight even when they are not.
• Obsess about food, weight, and dieting.
• Strictly limit how much they eat.
• Eat a large amount of food and then get rid of it. They may do this by vomiting, misusing medications or exercising too much.
• They may become secretive, pull away from family and friends, make excuses not to eat around other people, and lie about their eating habits.

If your child has bulimia, they may:

• Eat a large amount of food in a short time (binge), often over a couple of hours or less, on a regular basis.
• Feel out of control and feel like they can't stop eating during a binge.
• Eat a large amount of food but don't gain weight.
• Be secretive about eating, hide food, or avoid eating around other people.
• Get rid of the food so they won't gain weight (purge). They may make themselves vomit, exercise too much, or misuse medications (such as laxatives, enemas, water pills).

If your child has binge eating disorder, they may:

• Binge on a regular basis.
• Feel like they can't stop eating and eat so much that they feel painfully full.
• May gain weight over time due to binge eating.
• Feel unhappy, upset, guilty, or depressed after they binge.
• Eat alone because they are embarrassed about how much they eat.

How are eating disorders treated?

Treatment for eating disorders includes counselling and sometimes medicines. Some teens use both.

• Individual therapy: This can help your child understand their thoughts and feelings about food and the way they view their body. It can help them cope with strong feelings or manage situations that may have brought on their eating disorder.
• Family-based therapy: Parents or other caregivers are taught how to support their child at mealtimes and when they are feeling emotionally overwhelmed. The teen and their parents can also talk about family dynamics and learn ways to communicate better.
• Nutritional counselling. This can help your child get back to and stay at a healthy weight and learn healthy eating habits.
• Medicines. The most common medications for eating disorders are antidepressants, which can help reduce episodes of bingeing and purging or treat other problems teens may be dealing with, such as anxiety or depression.

No one should feel embarrassed or ashamed about having an eating disorder. It's not caused by personal weakness, and it isn't a character flaw. The journey of getting better from an eating disorder will take time, but full, long-lasting recovery is possible.

If you think your child has an eating disorder, get help. Some eating disorders need to be treated at an inpatient clinic. Others can be treated through outpatient appointments and eating support at home. If left untreated, eating disorders can cause serious health problems. Treatment can help you feel better and be healthier.