SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Compulsive Overeating

ANOREXIA NERVOSA

• Noticeable weight loss
• Becoming withdrawn
• Excessive exercise
• Fatigue
• Always being cold
• Muscle weakness
• Obsession with food, calories, recipes
• Excuses for not eating meals (ie. ate earlier, not feeling well)
• Unusual eating habits (ie. cutting food into tiny pieces, picking at food)
• Noticeable discomfort around food
• Complaining of being "too fat", even when thin
• Cooking for others, but not eating themselves
• Restricting food choices to only diet foods
• Guilt or shame about eating
• Depression, irritability, mood swings
• Evidence of vomiting, laxative abuse, diet pills or diuretics to control weight
• Irregular menstruation
• Amenorrhea(loss of menstruation)
• Wearing baggy clothes to hide weight loss
• Frequently checking weight on scale
• Fainting spells and dizziness
• Difficulty eating in public
• Very secretive about eating patterns
• Pale complexion (almost a pasty look)
• Headaches
• Perfectionistic attitude
• Feelings of self worth determined by what is or is not eaten
• No known physical illness that would explain weight loss

BULIMIA NERVOSA

• Binge eating
• Secretive eating (food missing)
• Bathroom visits after eating
• Vomiting
• Laxative, diet pill or diuretic abuse
• Weight fluctuations (usually with 10-15 lb range)
• Swollen glands
• Broken blood vessels
• Harsh exercise regimes
• Fasting
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Severe self-criticism
• Self-worth determined by weight
• Fear of not being able to stop eating voluntarily
• Self-deprecating thoughts following eating
• Fatigue
• Muscle weakness
• Tooth decay
• Irregular heartbeats
• Avoidance of restaurants, planned meals or social events
• Complains of sore throat
• Need for approval from others
• Substance abuse
• Ipecac abuse

COMPULSIVE OVEREATING

• Binge eating
• Fear of not being able to stop eating voluntarily
• Depression
• Self-deprecating thoughts following binges
• Withdrawing from activities because of embarrassment about weight
• Going on many different diets
• Eating little in public, while maintaining a high weight
• Believing they will be a better person when thin
• Feelings about self based on weight
• Social and professional failures attributed to weight
• Feeling tormented by eating habits
• Weight is focus of life

Resources:
-Surviving an Eating Disorder: Perspectives and Strategies for Family and Friends by Michelle Siegel, Ph.D., Judith Brisman, Ph.D., and Margot Weinshel, Ph.D. - Harper & Row Publishers, NY, 1988
-Walking A Thin Line by Pam Vredevelt and Joyce Whitman - Mullnomah Press, Oregon 1985
-Eating Disorders Handout - Sudbury General Hospital Eating Disorders Clinic (information for handout obtained from NEDIC)

Copyright © 1996 by [Colleen Thompson]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 14 Jul 2008 10:31:06 -0400.