What are the main warning signs of eating disorders?

Eating disorders (EDs) are mental disorders characterized by abnormal eating behaviors and an obsession with weight control. They are multifactorial disorders, caused by the interaction of various biological, psychological, familial, and sociocultural factors. These illnesses can have serious consequences for both physical and mental health, negatively impacting the affected person's family, social, work, academic, and emotional life. They are most commonly diagnosed in childhood and adolescence.

Lately, there has been much discussion about how the health emergency triggered by COVID-19 has affected physical and mental health; eating disorder experts in our country have confirmed an increase in cases and their severity. Therefore, now more than ever, in this context, it is crucial to detect warning signs that may indicate the possible development of an eating disorder.

Laia Asso Ministral: "We observe that eating disorders are being diagnosed at increasingly younger ages."

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Adolescence is a stage in a person's development that involves many changes, whether physical, emotional, related to responsibility, or interpersonal. Adolescents gain greater autonomy, and this can sometimes hinder families from detecting warning signs.

This health problem usually has a more or less slow onset, in which changes are made gradually that, being so gradual, often go unnoticed in the family's usual dynamics. Therefore, it is very important to detect and evaluate situations that may lead to the onset of an eating disorder ; these situations or warning signs may be associated with different items related to eating disorders:

Warning signs related to weight

• Fear or rejection of a normal weight; excessive concern about weight or about being overweight (verbalized or not).
• Use the scale to perform the weighing intensively and continuously.
• Suspect or confirm the presence of recurrent vomiting without an organic basis.
• Sudden weight changes.
• Use of diuretic, laxative or appetite control products without a medical prescription.

Warning signs related to eating habits

• Use of restrictive diets or abrupt changes in eating habits such as cutting out dairy products, adopting a vegetarian diet, "healthy eating", etc.
• Excessive and sudden interest in cooking, calorie charts.
• Strange eating behavior: chopping food into very small pieces, removing oil and/or sauce, eating while standing, eating very quickly or excessively slowly.
• Getting up from the table before the meal is finished.
• Trying to always eat alone; making excuses not to share food with the family by saying that you ate with a friend before arriving, that you had a large snack and have no appetite, etc.

Warning signs related to body perception

• Detecting that he perceives his body as oversized (larger than reality); trying to hide it with dark and loose clothing (change in the way of dressing).
• Continuous derogatory comments about her own body.
• Not perceiving her extreme thinness as others do.

Warning signs related to attitude

• Increased irritability, frequent mood swings, greater emotional lability.
• Fewer social interactions with peers, a certain degree of social isolation.
• Difficulty concentrating with more time spent studying and doing schoolwork.
• More time spent on physical exercise (group and individual); "need" to do it, often after meals.
• Constant body dissatisfaction.
• More time spent on social media, following content about fitness, food and diets.

When we encounter any of these situations, it doesn't necessarily mean that we are dealing with a person who has an eating disorder, but we do need to be alert and continue evaluating all situations and the person's condition, keeping in mind that the sooner an eating disorder is identified and diagnosed, the better the prognosis will be .

A strange situation does not always indicate a pathology; sometimes it is just an isolated event and does not affect the person's health; but it is best to be alert and evaluate it over time.

Whenever we suspect eating disorder symptoms, we should consult the primary care team, who will determine the course of action after assessing the situation.