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Eating Disorders

It is important to remember that an eating disorder is a serious mental health problem that needs urgent professional medical diagnosis and treatment.

Signs to look out for can be:

  • Loss of periods or not starting menstruation in young girls
  • Changes in character and obsessive concern about body weight, shape and dieting
  • Extreme fear of gaining weight
  • Marked distress around meal times
  • Evidence of depression, anxiety and thoughts of self harm
  • Rigid ‘black and white’ thinking about food
  • Cutting out food that was once enjoyed
  • Excessive exercising
  • Inducing vomiting
  • Appear to be lethargic

They may also include:

  • Dramatic weight loss
  • Lying about how much they've eaten, when they've eaten, or their weight
  • Eating a lot of food very fast
  • Going to the bathroom a lot after eating
  • Avoiding eating with others
  • Cutting food into small pieces or eating very slowly
  • Wearing loose or baggy clothes to hide their weight loss

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