Are You a Disordered Eater?

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Many people have disordered eating tendencies and don’t even realize it. Disordered eating can affect individuals of any gender, race, age, and body type. In today’s society we are bombarded with influencers, TV, radio, magazines, and other media outlets telling us how, what, and when to eat. These normalized behaviors can be dangerous. They take away from our primal drive to eat and can lead to serious mental and physical health consequences such as eating disorders, obesity, bone loss, gastrointestinal disturbances, electrolyte and fluid imbalances, low heart rate and blood pressure, increased anxiety, and social isolation. Although it is great to want to provide the best nutrients to your body, it becomes a concern at a certain point. 

So what exactly is disordered eating? Disordered eating is described as an irregular eating pattern that does not specifically fit an eating disorder diagnosis such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, orthorexia, and Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. 

Symptoms of Disordered eating include, but are not limited to: 

  • Frequent dieting

  • Stomach complaints and pain

  • Changes in bowel habits and menstrual cycles

  • Feeling dizzy, weak, and tired

  • Dry and brittle skin and hair

  • Anxiety around specific foods or meal skipping

  • Chronic weight fluctuations

  • Rigid rules and routines around food and exercise

  • Feelings of guilt and shame associated with eating

  • Preoccupation with food, weight and body image

  • Loss of control around food

  • Compulsive eating habits

  • Compensating in some way (exercise, food restriction, fasting, purging) to make up for too much or “bad” food consumed


Disordered eating may not be classified as an eating disorder, but it is just as serious and should be treated with the help of a team of medical professionals. It is important to do something as soon as symptoms appear, to not let the fear of weight gain hinder recovery. Ignoring the problem will not result in recovery.


Anderson, M. (2018, October 26). What is disordered eating? Eatright.org - Academy of Nutrition 

and Dietetics. https://www.eatright.org/health/diseases-and-conditions/eating-disorders/what-is-disordered-eating 


How to recognize the warning signs of disordered eating (and what to do). (2020, August 4). Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-recognize-the-warnings-signs-of-disordered-eating-and-what-to-do/


AB


Comments

  1. Alyssa S.December 1, 2020 at 5:28 PM

    AB,
    I see "What I eat in a day" videos all the time on YouTube. Often times these influencers are consuming what looks to be a well balanced diet but compared to what I eat, the meals seem so small! It makes me believe that I am eating too much although I am at a healthy body weight. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ELDecember 3, 2020 at 9:31 AM

    I feel like this is so prevalent in society today these behaviors are not considered disordered eating habits and are therefore glorified. It is truely very scary, especially for the younger generation, which is why education on this topic is so important. Very informative post!

    -EL

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dave YakunichDecember 6, 2020 at 5:38 PM

    This is an extremely IMPORTANT topic! Kudo's to you for tackling it and shedding some light on it. I like how you explain what it is, but more importantly I appreciate how you lay out a series of symptoms that we can use to identify if this is something we struggle with or not. Most people seem to know of anorexia or bulimia, but very few people know of disordered eating in general. This could be why we see such a massive and widespread issue regarding this in our society.
    -Dave Y-

    ReplyDelete

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