An eating disorder is characterised by obsessive thoughts about food and body weight. This includes people who limit the amount of food they eat (Anorexia nervosa), eat lots of food in a very short time and then purge (Bulimia) or overeat often (Compulsive overeating).
What are the symptoms of an eating disorder?
Obsessive thoughts about food and body weight can result in the following behaviours or changes including:
unusual or abnormal eating patterns (dieting, making excuses not to eat, avoidance of social situations involving food, going to the bathroom straight after meals),
mood changes (feeling depressed, irritable or anxious),
changes in daily activities (not wanting to go out socially often, exercising excessively),
spending a lot of time talking about appearance or weight or looking in the mirror, and
physical appearance changes (wearing baggy clothes, losing or gaining weight, greasy or dry hair and skin).
More information on anorexia and bulimia can be found at the following websites:
Body Positive - provides resources and information on body image.
Womens Health Queensland - provides balanced information independent of health care provider interests for women and health workers.
Victorian Centre of Excellence in Eating Disorders (CEED) - aims to reduce the occurrence, impact and duration of eating disorders in people of all ages, through the provision of education, training, consultation and research to health care providers at all levels.
Something-fishy.org - resource for everything related to eating disorders and treatment.
Remember, you should seek professional help from a mental health professional, mental health service, your GP or health provider when problems arise. For general health information, referral & teletriage services call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) for the cost of a local call.
- a non-discriminatory, non-profit organisation.
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