Eating Disorders, Part 2: Warning Signs Parents Need to Look For

You read the definitions and complications of eating disorders in Part I of this series.  In this segment, I want emphasize secondary prevention, or the early identification of disordered eating behavior.  To identify an eating disorder, you need to look for any of the following warning signs:

• Weight fluctuations. Rapid weight loss or gain is one of the hallmark signs of eating disordered behavior.  Don’t just focus on weight changes.  Younger children may not gain weight or height as expected.

• Drastic dieting.  Viewing foods as good or bad, avoiding high fat or high calorie foods, denying hunger, frequent weighing, obsessively counting calories and avoiding eating out are red flags.  Dangerous behaviors that may go along with dieting include, taking diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics.

• Sudden changes in eating behaviors. Any abrupt variations in eating patterns like skipping meals, becoming a strict vegetarian, avoiding specific foods, eating abnormally large amounts of food and going to the bathroom immediately following meals could mean that something is going on.  Be on the look-out for food rituals like cutting food into small pieces, eating foods in a certain order, not allowing foods to touch each other, or weighing food.

• Excessive exercise. Compulsive working out can be evidence of an eating disorder.  Look for extra trips to the gym or clues of extreme exercising like distress over missing a work out, continuing to exercise when injured or skipping social events to be active.

• Physical changes. Bodily changes like unusual swelling of the cheeks or jaw, calluses on the back of hands or knuckles, and staining of teeth are marks of self-induced vomiting.

If you witness warning signs, your child may need treatment.  Be proactive, ignoring behaviors will not make them go away!

There are three things you must do:

1. Get professional help.  Your first stop should be your child’s pediatrician.  If an eating disorder is suspected or diagnosed, consider getting a treatment team involved.  A treatment team usually consists of a physician, psychiatrist, therapist, and registered dietitian that specialize in eating disorders.  To find treatment professionals in your area, go to a reputable source like the Academy of Eating Disorders’ website and the  find an ED professional page.
2. Educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about eating disorders.  Read books, articles, and brochures.  Don’t forget reputable sources on the Internet like The National Eating Disorders Association.  Gurze bookstore is a great resource for finding books about preventing and understanding eating disorders.
3. Ask questions.  You can never ask too many questions when it comes to your child.  See the National Eating Disorders Association’s handout, Treatment of Eating Disorders for questions to ask professionals.

The Eating Disorder Coalition of Tennessee has more helpful links for you to share with other families.

Treatment is available and recovery is possible!  Remember, the earlier treatment is sought, the higher the likelihood of a full recovery.

Stay tuned for next week’s post:  The Parent’s Role in Preventing Eating Disorders

Contributing Author: Katherine Fowler, MS, RD, LDN