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Many young people experience difficulties with eating food at some time in their lives. These can range from not liking foods (which happens to most people from time to time) or experiencing a trauma in life which in turn may affect you emotionally, leading to clinical eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

What is anorexia nervosa?Image of a young person weighing themselves on a set of scales
People with anorexia nervosa avoid eating and lose a lot of weight. They often feel or think they look fat, even when they are very thin. They may use other ways of staying thin, such as taking laxatives and exercising too much.

To avoid their anorexia being spotted by others they often hide food or follow very complicated plans to avoid eating and wear clothes that make them look heavier. Anorexia sufferers can become very weak and, without special help, some may
even die.

What is bulimia?
Bulimia is when people binge (eat lots of food at once) and then make themselves sick to get rid of the food. Some people with bulimia also use laxatives. These give you diarrhoea when taken in large doses.

People with bulimia may not look overweight or underweight, which can make the problem difficult to recognise. Repeated bingeing and purging (vomiting and/or taking laxatives) will eventually do serious damage to your body and teeth and can be very dangerous.

How you look


Find out more about body image on our How you look page.

  • What is compulsive eating?

    Compulsive eating is when people eat much more than their bodies need without being able to stop because they are full, or use food to comfort or distract themselves. Compulsive eaters often eat for comfort and to distract themselves from upsetting thoughts or feelings that they find difficult to cope with.

    Eating very large amounts of food when you are not hungry can lead to feeling very uncomfortable, feeling guilty and bad about yourself, and, if you do it regularly, it can also result in becoming overweight. Being very fat can lead to serious medical problems, like heart problems or diabetes.

  • How do eating problems begin?

    Many people who have eating problems feel bad about themselves or are living in stressful family situations. The eating problem is often a mask for other issues or be a way of trying to cope with them.

    Any number of other issues can 'trigger' an eating problem. It may come from a mixture of problems, such as:

    - pressure to be thin
    - bullying
    - abuse
    - the death of someone close.

    Deciding to be very strict about what they eat, when they eat and only eating a tiny amount or over eating can make people feel more in control. If they keep on starving themselves or if they do unhealthy things to get rid of food from their body after eating, this is the beginning of an eating disorder that, without help, could get out of control.

  • What should I do if I think I have an eating problem?

    If you beginning to feel worried about the amount you eat or think that you might have a problem with food, you can talk to us about it. The sooner you realise you have a problem, the easier it is to get help. Help can include anything from talking to friends, your family, school nurse, a doctor or calling us.

  • Where can I find more help about eating problems?

    Eating Disorders Association
    103 Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 1DW
    Website: www.edauk.com
    Adult helpline: 0845 634 1414
    Monday to Friday 8.30am to 8.30pm, Saturday 1.00pm to 4.30pm
    Email: helpmail@edauk.com

    Youth helpline (for children and young people aged 18 or under): 0845 634 7650
    Monday to Friday 4.00pm to 6.30pm. Saturday 1.00pm to 4.30pm
    Youthline email: talkback@edauk.com
    Youthline text service: 07 977 493 345

    Textphone service (for people with impaired hearing): 01603 75 33 22
    Monday to Friday 8.30am to 8.30pm

Other sites that can help

B-eat website

Boy Anorexia

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Eating disorders

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