Warning Signs of Eating Disorders

warning signs of eating disorders

How do I know if someone has an eating disorder?

What are the warning signs of eating disorders?

You can’t always know whether someone has an eating disorder based on their appearance. This means it can be hard to be sure whether someone is struggling or not. This is especially compounded by the fact that most eating disorders are secretive by nature, meaning the person typically doesn't want other people to know.

If you’re worried about someone, you can check for warning signs of eating disorders with some free screening tools from:

Screenings are helpful tools to determine if you need a professional assessment. To receive a free 1:1 assessment by an eating disorder specialist, get a diagnosis (if applicable), and receive suggestions for the next steps, we encourage you to schedule a Clinical Assessment with Project HEAL.

  • • Skipping meals or making excuses for not eating

    • Adopting an overly restrictive vegetarian or vegan diet

    • Excessive focus on healthy eating

    • Engaging frequently in diets, yo-yo dieting, or fad-diets/diets of the moment (e.g. Atkins, Keto, Weight Watchers, South Beach Diet, Paleo, Nutrisystem, Noom, etc)

    • Making their own meals rather than eating what the family eats

    • Refusing to eat at restaurants or only eating food when they “know what went into it”

    • Telling people they just ate so they don't have to eat with them

    • Only eating alone or in secret

    • Lying to people about how much they eat

    • Counting calories

    • Repeatedly eating excessively large amounts

    • Eating much more food in a meal or snack than is considered normal

    • Drinking water or chewing gum to suppress their appetite

    • Using substances to curb their appetite

    • Comparing what they’re eating to others, e.g. “I would never eat that doughnut” or “I should have chosen the salad like you”

  • • Withdrawing from normal social activities

    • Leaving during meals to use the toilet

    • Using a journal or fitness tracker to meticulously track calories, macros, or other nutritional values

    • Hiding food wrappers

    • Weighing themselves frequently (e.g multiple times a day)

    • Using dietary supplements, laxatives or herbal products for weight loss

    • Excessively wandering around at the grocery store and not buying anything

    • Following diet, weight loss. and/or thinspo accounts on social media

    • Feeling uncomfortable or triggered by weight-neutral or Fat-positive accounts on social media

    • Feeling disinterested in daily life, inlcuding activities they once enjoyed and spending time with people they like, etc

  • • Persistently worrying or complaining about “feeling fat”

    • Obsessing over losing weight

    • Frequently checking in the mirror for perceived flaws or hyper-fixating on specific body parts

    • Expressing depression, disgust, shame, or guilt about eating habits

    • Feeling guilty or stressed about eating food

    • Placing excessive moral authority (believing one is sinful, gluttonous, undisciplined, lazy, or lacking in other ways) on body size, food intake, exercise, athletic performance, etc.

    • Refusing to take photos of themself, whether they’re alone or with others

    • Asking people to take down photos of them based on how the person looks/feels in their body

    • Bursting into tears while getting dressed or looking at their body

    • Going through several outfits while getting dressed because they don’t like how things look on them

  • • Exercising excessively

    • “Making up for” consumed food with exercise, e.g. “earning” food by working out or planning to exercise in order to compensate for foods eaten

    • Feeling “addicted” to working out or exercise

    • Unwilling to take a day off of movement or feelings stressed by the concept of rest

    • Exercising multiple times a day

    • Not eating before/after exercising

    • Exercising with the exclusive goal of changing their body

  • • Increased body aches, exhaustion, and lack of energy

    • Calluses on the knuckles from inducing vomiting

    • Problems with loss of tooth enamel that may be a sign of repeated vomiting

    • Significant or rapid weight changes, especially in a short period of time

If you’re noticing the warning signs of eating disorders with someone you know, please apply for support.

Image by pikisuperstar on Freepik

Categories of Warning Signs

There are often many warning signs of eating disorders, even if they’re hard to see. We can break these signs down into a few categories that are helpful to look at.