7 Common Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders: By Recovery Experts

There are various eating disorders, each with its own set of indications and symptoms. These disorders frequently impact people’s emotions, behavior, and physical health.

Body image and self-esteem are linked to some of the most common eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa. People suffering from these diseases may be overly preoccupied with reducing weight or avoiding gaining weight.

In some circumstances, a person’s need to regulate their food consumption stems from a sense of powerlessness over other elements of their life.

Although eating disorders are commonly associated with hazardous weight loss, this is not always the case. In addition, eating disorders may affect people of all sizes. As a result, it’s critical to understand all of the ways that eating disorders may affect people.

To get a clearer overview, continue to this link.

What Is An Eating Disorder?

Patients with any kind of eating disorder would purposely reduce their food intake as it assists them in coping with emotional difficulties. These are frequently accompanied by either a fear of gaining weight or a desire to shed weight.

Dietary limitations can cause nutritional deficiency, harming the general health and possibly leading to fatal consequences. One of the most common types of eating disorders is anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa presents emotional and psychological obstacles that might be difficult to overcome.

Counseling, nutritional guidance, and medical treatment are part of therapy to help a person overcome this problem. But, unfortunately, some folks may even require hospitalization.

There are a lot of misconceptions concerning eating disorders. Unfortunately, these can lead to erroneous assumptions, affecting people’s ability to seek and receive aid.

Signs And Symptoms Of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders most commonly strike in a person’s adolescent or early adult years, although they can also strike in the preteen years or later in life.

An eating disorder is commonly associated with females. However, it may afflict persons of any gender or sex. Let’s look at the signs and symptoms of eating disorders here:

1: Sudden Loss Of Muscle Mass

If a person has an eating disorder, they may be undergoing a strict diet plan without letting anybody know. It will result in a sudden loss of muscle mass, and they will appear pale and fragile to you all of a sudden.

2: Low Body Temperature With Cold Hand And Feet

When people are underweight, they always have cold intolerance. As a result, there is poor blood circulation to the feet and hands, which prevents the body temperature from getting warm. This condition is called hypothermia.

3: Showing Excessive Concerns With Weight, Dieting, And Exercising

If someone has always been into exercising and dieting, they may never have an eating disorder. However, if someone suddenly shows excessive concerns regarding weight and exercising, it is a strong indicator that they have an eating disorder.

4: Denying Feeling Hungry And Avoiding Mealtimes

If you see someone who had breakfast at 7 in the morning and doesn’t eat anything else for the rest of the day without water, that is unhealthy. You may ask them if they are hungry or not, but they will probably deny it and skip meeting you during mealtimes.

5: Withdrawing From Social Interaction

When someone undergoes eating disorders, they always stay irritated, angry and may get triggered for a fight, even at a silly joke. This is why people with eating disorders avoid meeting friends and avoid attending social parties because they cannot eat anything there.

6: Lightheadedness, Fatigue, Or Exhaustion

There is no replacement for a healthy and nutritious diet. However, you will always feel dizzy and weak when you skip eating for a long time. It may even lead you to exhaust yourself in simple tasks, and you will always feel drowsy to avoid the urge to eat.

7: Talking About Being Fat Frequently

Last but not least, when someone talks about being fat frequently, he may be taking some measures to reduce body fat as well.

Therefore, if you see a slim person talking about being fat, or even a fat person obsessing over it day and night, chances are they are struggling with eating disorders.

Diagnosis

Males account for around 25% of those with anorexia, and the effects are more likely to be life-threatening in males than in girls. This is because guys are more likely to be diagnosed later because they believe eating disorders will not impact them.

If you take someone for an eating disorder diagnosis, the doctor may inquire about the person’s eating habits, weight, and overall mental and physical well-being.

They may order tests to rule out other medical conditions with similar signs and symptoms, such as cancer, hormonal issues, or malabsorption.

Energy restriction and low body weight for age, sex, and overall health are severe indicators of eating disorders. Despite being underweight, an intense dread of gaining weight or becoming obese is another common trait in all patients suffering from eating disorders.

Treatment

A healthcare expert will develop a thorough strategy to meet the individual’s unique requirements. The strategies are:

1. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of treatment that can assist a person in developing new ways of thinking, acting, and managing stress.
2. Family and individual counseling is an effective way to deal with this problem. If family and friends are aware of the disorder and can recognize its signs and symptoms, they can assist the person recover and avoid relapse.
3. Nutritional therapy is a type of counseling that teaches people how to utilize food to improve and maintain their health. It will change how a person feels about their weight and not let the body weight influence their self-image.
4. Last but not least, Antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, nutritional deficits with supplements, and even getting treatment at a hospital are also some strategies to treat people with eating disorders.

Final Note

This article has explained the 7 common signs and symptoms of eating disorders. If you are familiar with any of these signs or someone you know, it’s high time you start acting on preventing these.

Once you familiarize yourself with these symptoms, getting a treatment won’t be much challenging. Therefore, you can post your questions in the comment box below if you have any other concerns regarding this topic.