Background Information

What to do first

• It's important to be able to recognize anorexia.  Only when you can observe the symptoms can you help the individual to get help and recover.

• Dramatic weight loss in a relatively short period of time.
• Wearing big or baggy clothes or dressing in layers to hide body shape and/or weight loss.
• Obsession with weight and complaining of weight problems (even if "average" weight or thin).
• Obsession with calories and fat content of foods.
• Obsession with continuous exercise.
• Frequent trips to the bathroom immediately following meals (sometimes accompanied with water running in the bathroom for a long period of time to hide the sound of vomiting).
• Visible food restriction and self-starvation.
• Visible bingeing and/or purging.
• Use or hiding use of diet pills, laxatives, ipecac syrup (can cause immediate death!) or enemas.
• Isolation. Fear of eating around and with others.
• Unusual Food rituals such as shifting the food around on the plate to look eaten; cutting food into tiny pieces; making sure the fork avoids contact with the lips (using teeth to scrap food off the fork or spoon); chewing food and spitting it out, but not swallowing; dropping food into napkin on lap to later throw away.
• Hiding food in strange places (closets, cabinets, suitcases, under the bed) to avoid eating (Anorexia) or to eat at a later time (Bulimia).
• Flushing uneaten food down the toilet (can cause sewage problems).
• Vague or secretive eating patterns.
• Keeping a "food diary" or lists that consists of food and/or behaviors (ie., purging, restricting, calories consumed, exercise, etc.)
• Pre-occupied thoughts of food, weight and cooking.
• Reading books about weight loss and eating disorders.
• Self-defeating statements after food consumption.
• Hair loss. Pale or "grey" appearance to the skin.
• Dizziness and headaches.
• Frequent soar throats and/or swollen glands.
• Low self-esteem. Feeling worthless. Often putting themself down and complaining of being "too stupid" or "too fat" and saying they don't matter. Need for acceptance and approval from others.
• Complaints of often feeling cold.
• Low blood pressure.
• Loss of menstrual cycle.
• Constipation or incontinence.
• Bruised or calluses knuckles; bloodshot or bleeding in the eyes; light bruising under the eyes and on the cheeks.
• Perfectionist personality.
• Loss of sexual desire or promiscuous relations.
• Mood swings. Depression. Fatigue.
• Insomnia. Poor sleeping habits

• Take the Eating Disorder Test.  This self-scoring test will help you to determine if you are suffering from an eating disorder.  It was developed by Eating Disorder Associates.