Eating Disorders
Content warning
This article will discuss eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, trauma, depression, and anxiety. If you’re finding it difficult to read, it’s okay to stop, or take a break and come back to it when you feel ready. This is the first part of a series where we discuss what eating disorders are, where they might come from, and strategies that might help you manage or even move on from having one.
What is an eating disorder?
Eating disorders in general mainly involve patterns of thoughts and behaviours related to eating, food, and body image that can feel hard to control and negatively affect your health. Eating disorders show up differently from person to person, but they often include ongoing struggles with eating habits and stressful thoughts about eating and food. Eating disorders can affect many aspects of your life: your physical health, if the body is not getting enough nutrients; your mental health, by taking over your thoughts and making daily life feel overwhelming and stressful; and your social life, by making it harder to connect with friends when you feel overwhelmed by thoughts about food or your body.
Eating disorders (EDs) look different for everyone, and they are far more common than we might think. More than 100,000 Canadians over the age of 15 are diagnosed with eating disorders per year, and likely more that experience the same symptoms but remain undiagnosed. It is one of the most widespread challenges faced by teens today.
Eating disorders usually begin between the ages of 14 and 19, and they are most commonly experienced by those who identify as female from ages 12 to 35. It is important to note that these are just patterns – anyone, no matter their age or gender, can experience an eating disorder.
What are the common types of eating disorders?
Anorexia Nervosa (AN)
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where a person severely restricts the amount of food that they eat, often leading to a noticeable drop in body weight. Even without thinness, individuals with anorexia can be malnourished due to limiting caloric intake for a prolonged period that causes nutrient deficiency. Some symptoms that arise from this malnourishment include constant feelings of fatigue, dizziness, low blood pressure, hair loss, and brittle nails.
This usually comes from a deep fear of gaining weight or seeing their body differently than it is, for example, believing that they are fat even when they’re not. These fears may stem from many sources that we don’t often think much about: scrolling on social media and constantly comparing ourselves to media-trained professionals that seem to have the perfect body, visiting a relative’s home and a family member remarking that you’ve gained some weight, or noticing that people tend to treat you in a different manner after changes in your physique.
There are two common subtypes: the restricting type and binge-eating/purging type.
- People with the restricting type may find themselves dieting/fasting or exercising more than they typically would.
- People with the binge-eating/purging type will often find themselves occasionally having episodes where they eat much more than usual in a short time and then try to “make up for it” by purging — like making themselves throw up or misusing laxatives or diet pills.
Bulimia Nervosa (BN)
People with bulimia nervosa often follow strict eating patterns, where they will regularly choose to consume low calorie “healthy foods”, but have episodes where they eat large amounts of high calorie “forbidden foods” in a short period of time, usually secretively, to the point of extreme fullness, nausea, and discomfort.
Binge eating often comes with feeling like you’re losing control over the amount of food or what type of food you’re eating. Afterwards, people may feel guilty, and try to regain control over food through actions like purging. It’s important to note that the “guilty” feeling that we feel is often not guilt, but rather shame or embarrassment reflecting that we’re having a hard time accepting ourselves.
If both anorexia and bulimia involve struggles with food and self-image, what’s the difference between them?
Anorexia and bulimia can both present in many ways in terms of body shape and weight. But the real difference isn’t just about how someone looks — rather how they think about and interact with food.
When someone has Anorexia Nervosa (AN), they often restrict their energy intake, so they often look noticeably thinner/low in weight relative to age, height, sex, and their development. Aside from physical signs, purging behaviors are less common and restriction is the main way to “manage” weight.
Relying on physical signs to distinguish AN from BN can be less obvious because someone may appear to be a “healthy” or “average weight” but still have the same health problems due to malnutrition. People with Atypical Anorexia Nervosa (AAN) may be at a “normal” weight or even above average weight for their age, height, sex, and development, but still restrict their energy intake and have an intense fear of weight gain or changes in body image.
People with bulimia nervosa can be slightly underweight, normal weight, or overweight. Like AAN, it is difficult to tell whether a person has bulimia nervosa through their appearance or weight. Unlike AAN, the main way people work towards a weight goal is through a binge-purge cycle — it’s like a push-pull dynamic, where someone eats a lot at once then tries to “undo” it. Restriction is less common.
Although the three have many differences, they can all cause serious health concerns like loss of bone density, irregular heartbeat, or digestive/stomach problems.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
- Everyone overeats from time to time, eating more food than the energy that your body needs, especially when you feel beyond full. What makes people with binge eating disorder different is the urge to overeat regularly. If you’re having times where you eat a lot really quickly, feel like you can’t stop, and it happens about once a week or more, it’s worth talking to someone who can help. Binge eating isn’t the same as going all-in on your favorite snack — it often comes with guilt or shame, and sometimes the eating is about more than just hunger. You might be trying to feel in control when other parts of life feel out of control, to change your weight or health in ways that feel urgent, or to cope with stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, or obsessive thoughts. The food becomes a way to manage emotions or situations, even if it leaves you feeling worse afterward
- Unlike people with bulimia, people with BED don’t usually try to “make up” for a binge eating period by throwing up or using laxative. Instead, they may try to restrict their diet by eating less or eating low calorie foods that they consider safe during meal time.
It is important to note that there are many other types of eating disorders besides the ones mentioned in this article.
Seeking professional help
Some of the signs and symptoms of eating disorders can be caused by other medical conditions like gastrointestinal issues, diabetes, depression, anxiety, or OCD. If you have these symptoms, it may be a good idea to talk to a physician or a licensed therapist.
Just because eating disorders are common doesn’t mean they can’t be managed with the right help. It’s normal to feel unsure about whether you “fit” a specific diagnosis, but what matters is noticing red flags — whether that’s becoming increasingly obsessed with controlling your eating, feeling triggered by seeing different body types online, or feeling an urgent need to change your appearance after comments. The rule of thumb is that if food, exercise, or body image is taking more mental space than you want it to, or it’s affecting your daily life, friendships, or happiness, that’s a sign to reach out for support.
Further Reading
- Planned Parenthood Mental Health Services
- Kids Help Phone
- International OCD Foundation – The Body as a Prison: Eating Disorders and Body Dysmorphic Disorder
- National Eating Disorder Association – Causes & Risk Factors of Eating Disorders
If you have questions about this topic, feel free to contact one of our peer educators. [Link]
Last Updated: January 2026
