Everything You Need to Know About Disordered Eating, According to Experts

During lunch, a coworker shares with you that they’ve cut off all carbs from their diet.

At the dinner table, your cousin is unusually quiet as they focus on entering their food into a weight loss app.

Your best buddy sends a message to the group chat saying that they are going to the gym to “earn” the brunch that you and some other friends are going to have later.

Although situations like these have grown commonplace, the fact remains that each of these actions is one of several that a rising number of medical professionals regard to be indicators of an eating disorder.

It might be difficult for many people to determine whether or not certain behaviors, particularly ones that diet society has deemed to be “good,” belong in this category.

This is especially true for people who don’t fit the stereotypes that are associated with eating disorders, such as people of color, men, and people whose body weights are higher than average.

You can find resources and support no matter who you are or where you are, regardless of whether you are struggling with disordered eating, dealing with a full-threshold eating disorder, or just hoping to improve your relationship with food. This is true regardless of whether you are trying to improve your relationship with food or you are dealing with an eating disorder.

What exactly is a disordered eating pattern?

The phrase “disordered eating” refers to food- and diet-related behaviors that may not fulfill the diagnostic criteria for recognized eating disorders (EDs), but which may still have a negative impact on the physical, mental, or emotional health of an individual.

In New York City, Intuitive Eating counselor and weight-inclusive dietitian Chelsea Levy, MS, RD, CDN, works with persons in recovery from disordered eating and EDs. She holds a Master of Science in nutrition and a Registered Dietitian certification. She explained to Healthspun that both full-threshold eating disorders and disordered eating exist along a range.

“On one end is healthy eating, or just regular old eating, and then all the way on the other side of severe or unhealthy behaviors would be an eating disorder,” she added. “Regular old eating” refers to eating at a normal pace. “Disordered eating would fall somewhere in the between of those two extremes.”

Examples of unhealthy eating patterns include the following:

avoiding entire food groupings, certain macronutrients, or foods with specific textures or colors for no apparent reason other than a desire to improve one’s health
Binge-eating
Participating in actions that are considered to be “compensatory,” such as working out in order to “make up for” the food that one has eaten
engaging in compulsive physical activity
chopping food into smaller pieces, reducing the speed at which you eat, or otherwise trying to fool your body into thinking it has eaten enough when it has actually just consumed a smaller quantity of food
abstaining from food to reduce weight
feeling guilt, disgust, or worry before or after eating
adhering to particular dietary regulations or routines
missing meals on purpose or reducing the amount of food you eat, such as not eating for a period of time before or after consuming a large meal, food that you perceive to be unhealthy, or alcohol.
deciding to consume nothing except what you call “clean” or “healthy” meals
attempting to lose weight by adhering to trendy diets
attempting to regulate your weight by engaging in actions that involve purging, such as using laxatives or forcing yourself to vomit
monitoring one’s consumption of food or calories to the point of obsession
weighing oneself frequently or frequently recording body measurements

People who indulge in disordered eating put themselves at a significant risk of developing eating disorders in the long run, despite the fact that disordered eating is not considered an eating disorder on its own.

Even if a person does not have a clinical case of ED as a result of their disordered eating, they nevertheless run the risk of developing long-term mental and physical health problems such as psychological discomfort and worse health overall.

What about trendy eating plans?

As a result of the prevalence of eating behaviors that are regarded as disordered that are encouraged by numerous fad diets, some doctors believe that following any diet in an effort to lose weight is indicative of disordered eating.

Rebecca Eyre, MA, LMHC, is a therapist who specializes in eating disorders and also serves as the CEO of Project HEAL. Project HEAL is a nonprofit organization that provides direct services to assist individuals in overcoming systemic and financial barriers to accessing treatment for eating disorders.

Her perspective is that attempting to lose weight on purpose is intrinsically dysfunctional.

According to what she shared with Healthspun, “dieting twice your risk of an eating disorder,” but I believe what that truly means is that disordered eating doubles your chance of an eating disorder. To play around with anything like that is extremely risky, particularly when one considers how infrequently dieting results in the outcomes that are wanted.

She referred to studies that showed the majority of people recover more than fifty percent of the weight they lost on a diet within two years of beginning the regimen.

This weight regain can lead to weight cycling, which is a cycle of dieting to lose weight, gaining the weight back, and attempting to lose it again by dieting. Weight cycling can be avoided by maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly.

According to Levy, the weight that our bodies are most comfortable with is predetermined by genetics to a great extent. When dieting, a person’s body is pushed away from its natural set point, and once the diet is over, the body will do everything it can to get back to its natural set point, including slowing down its metabolism and increasing appetite.

Dieting is the single most critical factor in determining whether or not a young person will develop an eating disorder. Compared to people who don’t diet at all, those who diet even moderately and those who diet extremely are 5 and 18 times more likely, respectively, to develop an eating disorder than people who don’t diet at all.

In addition, yo-yo dieting and cycling through different weights have been linked to a number of additional unfavorable health effects, including nutrient inadequacies, damage to the cardiovascular and metabolic systems, hormonal imbalances, and depressed symptoms.

What exactly is the difference between disordered eating and eating disorders?

Full-threshold feeding and eating disorders can be categorized into the following eight subtypes:

Anorexia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa
Binge eating disorder
Disorder of Avoidance and Restriction of Food Intake
Pica
Rumination
Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED), which includes Purging Disorder, Night Eating Syndrome, Atypical Anorexia Nervosa, Subthreshold Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder, as well as Orthorexia Nervosa.
Disorders of Feeding and Eating That Are Not Specified (UFED)

Because full-threshold eating disorders contain the same behaviors as disordered eating and because disordered eating can lead to the development of full-threshold eating disorders, it can be difficult to determine where the boundary between the two lies. That’s in part because different people have different conceptions of where the “line” should be drawn.

In most cases, the distinction may be summed up in terms of the regularity and intensity of the disordered behaviors. Eating disorders are believed to be more severe, and a person who suffers from one is more likely to engage in disordered behaviors, which can have a more negative effect on their physical health.

“Are you able to continue with your job, your social life, your schoolwork, and your education despite the fact that you engage in these behaviors? According to Levy, the most important factors in determining the difference between disordered eating and eating disorders are the frequency with which the behaviors occur, how they affect the individual psychologically, and how they interfere with the individual’s day-to-day functioning. “And while these behaviors can appear to be the same,

A person’s weight, the length of time they’ve been experiencing symptoms, and the potential impacts their activities may have had on their physical health are all potential factors that can be included in a formal ED diagnosis.

Does it make a difference whether someone has an eating disorder or an eating disorder?

Because clinical eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors are both connected with poorer mental and physical health, it could appear as though differentiating between the two is not the most crucial thing to do.

On the other hand, the following is undeniably true: Anyone who wants to improve their relationship with food should consider themselves to be in a position of authority to do so, regardless of whether or not they have a full-threshold eating disorder.

But according to Levy, “it is vital to know whether you do have a diagnosable eating disorder that is acute because of severity for your safety.” This is because ED diagnoses are often applied after a person has already began to experience bad physical health effects.

According to Eyre, having specific diagnostic criteria included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), a resource that is used for classifying mental health conditions, is useful for other reasons, such as research and obtaining authorization from insurance to receive treatment.

In addition, referring to unhealthy eating patterns as “disordered eating” can make it easier for more people to comprehend when they are engaging in behavior that is detrimental to their health.

“Everyone has a very extreme idea of what that implies, and there’s so many problems with it,” Eyre said. “The moment we talk about eating disorders, everybody has a very extreme vision of what that means.” “One of the problems with it is that it makes people feel as though they need to be a specific sort of sick, a certain degree of severity, in order to even conceive of themselves as having an eating disorder. This is one of the problems that this causes.

“The vocabulary of ‘disordered eating’ is far more accessible and welcoming, and it draws individuals into the dialogue about their connection with food in a way that is less stigmatizing,” as stated by the author.

People may not receive diagnoses of ED due to the stigma and discrimination associated with obesity.

It is possible for diagnostic criteria for ED to be exclusive. In the case of anorexia nervosa, for instance, a person must have a low body mass index in order to be given the diagnosis (BMI).

This method of classifying eating disorders ignores the fact that disordered eating and the associated harms affect people of all body sizes, which has led to criticism of the BMI as a tool for measuring an individual’s health. In addition, the BMI has been called into question as a tool for measuring an individual’s weight.

It appears that those who have a larger body weight have a far higher propensity to engage in disordered eating behaviors, including behaviors that may fit the criteria for ED. According to Eyre, however, people with higher BMIs are frequently precluded from receiving diagnoses and, consequently, treatment because of their weight status.

Everyone, regardless of their gender, colour, size, or income level, is susceptible to developing an eating disorder.

To put it more plainly, Eyre stated, “In my perspective, the majority of people have a disturbed relationship with food.”

Regardless of who they are or what they’ve been through, anyone, regardless of their identities or experiences, is susceptible to disordered eating and eating disorders. However, certain groups may be at a larger risk than others.

Misconceptions claim that the persons who are at the highest risk for eating disorders are women and girls who are slender, white, cisgender, and wealthy; however, the truth is quite different:

People with higher body weights have a greater risk of exhibiting behaviors that are indicative of an eating disorder. In point of fact, according to Eyre, only 6% of persons who suffer from eating disorders are clinically underweight.
There is a shortage of research on eating disorders and eating disorders among communities of color. Despite this, some research suggests that individuals of color are just as prone as white people to participate in disordered eating, while other research and advocates claim that people of color may be even more likely to do so.
Sexual minority adolescents, which includes adolescents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, or any other non-heterosexual identities, are more likely to participate in disordered eating than heterosexual adolescents do.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults and adolescents have a higher risk of engaging in disordered eating behaviors or being diagnosed with ED than their cisgender and heterosexual peers do.
People who identify as transgender have an increased likelihood of having EDs. More than 15% of Trans persons surveyed in a research that included 289,024 college students reported having ED diagnoses. This is in comparison to 0.55% of cisgender, heterosexual men and 1.85% of cisgender, heterosexual women.

Socioeconomic status

Every income level is represented by people who struggle with eating disorders.

Food insecurity is a risk factor for disordered eating, particularly bulimic-spectrum behaviors and binge-eating, and the rates of disordered eating are increasing more quickly among those with incomes below the median than among those with higher incomes. Food insecurity is a risk factor for disordered eating.

Age

Even though many people believe that only adolescents are susceptible, persons of any age can suffer from eating disorders. People aged 45 and older are showing a faster rate of increase in eating disorders than younger adults. This trend is expected to continue.

A survey conducted in 2008 indicated that the prevalence of eating disorders among women in their 30s and 40s was comparable to that of women in their 20s.

Eating disorders can also affect children. Children are vulnerable to these disorders. According to the findings of a recent study that involved more than 12,000 children ages 9 and 10, researchers discovered that as many as 5% of the children participated in disordered eating.

Men

When it comes to resources pertaining to disordered eating, another community that has been neglected is that of men.

About one-quarter of all cases of anorexia and bulimia are seen in males, and by the time they reach the age of 40, at least one in seven males will have suffered from an eating disorder.

According to the findings of a study conducted in Finland, seven percent of the men polled suffered from some form of eating disorder. Also, the prevalence of eating disorders is rising more rapidly among males than it is among women. According to the findings of a study conducted on children aged 9 and 10, researchers found that males are just as likely as girls to report having eating disorders.

In general, people of all genders, ages, and levels of financial status are susceptible to and do experience disordered eating, and as a result, they face the same level of disruption to the quality of their lives.

The prevalence of eating disorders begs the question, “Why?”

The majority of cases of disordered eating and eating disorders have their origins in concerns regarding one’s body image, which are frequently impacted by fatphobia. The dread or dislike of being overweight is known as fatphobia, and it permeates all aspects of daily life, from the dinner table to the waiting room of the doctor’s office.

Despite growing evidence that suggests weight loss diets do more harm than good for many people, the weight loss industry, the media, and influencers all encourage behaviors and products meant to keep weights low and waistlines small. This is despite the fact that the weight loss industry encourages behaviors and products meant to keep weights low and waistlines small.

One of the reasons why disordered eating persists is because these behaviors have been normalized and even celebrated. To put it another way, it’s not easy to find.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, medical practitioners have limited training on EDs; nonetheless, they are frequently the ones who prescribe weight loss to patients. Education regarding eating disorders is particularly lacking among adults, men, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people.

In addition, the circumstances around a behavior might play a role in determining whether or not it is disordered.

For instance, while fasting for the purpose of weight loss would be considered abnormal, fasting for religious reasons probably isn’t going to do you any harm. And having “food rules” could be an indicator of disordered eating, although having preferences or following cultural eating customs wouldn’t be an indicator of disordered eating.

Additionally, prominent companies in the weight reduction market have rebranded as fad dieting has partly fallen out of favor, which makes it even more difficult to identify disordered eating.

What may have been referred to as a diet a decade ago may now be referred to as “psychology,” “wellness,” or a “lifestyle.” These terms appear to be much less harmful, but in reality they co-opt the vocabulary used in eating disorder treatment environments.

To conform to aesthetic standards that value thinness and whiteness, however, the body is purposefully shrunk in an effort to achieve the desired result.

According to what Levy had to say, “Everyone in our culture is touched by diet culture and this weight-centric medical model.” “Unlearning these disordered norms about what health looks like, about eating, and having a healthy relationship to food and body is something that we all deserve to do,” the author writes.

Reestablishing a healthy relationship with one’s food intake

Support is accessible to you whether you believe that your connection with food may be disordered, possibly fulfill the criteria for an eating disorder (ED), or is just something you’d like to address. You deserve access to treatment, and you have a right to receive it.

Consider having a conversation with a physician who specializes in eating disorders, a licensed therapist, a registered dietitian who does not specialize in diet, or another qualified healthcare practitioner.

They are able to assist you in talking through your thoughts towards food, your body, and your weight, and they can also direct you in re-framing any beliefs that may be the driving force behind disordered eating.

People who hold identities that are considered marginalized should, according to Levy’s advice, seek out the assistance of experts who share similar life experiences or who can provide evidence of allyship.

This is due to the fact that providing medical care that is culturally competent, including in the area of nutrition, helps to create trust and enhances the possibility that the individual seeking care will receive practical advice that are suited to their way of life.

“Finding an eating disorder dietician who is [trained] in Health at Every Size is usually the first clue that you are heading in the correct route,” she stated. “Take a look at their website and read the information on their ‘about’ page, and then have a chat with them that lasts for 15–20 minutes to find out if they might be able to help you.”

Eyre further mentioned that the process of recovery from disordered eating does not have to take place entirely within the confines of a therapist’s office. She recommends looking into resources such as podcasts, apps, blogs, and other online mediums to help assist your rehabilitation.

You might want to think about any of these alternatives:

a test administered by Psych Central to assist in determining whether or not it would be beneficial for you to get support;
Healthspun’s recommendations for the top applications available in 2022 for the recovery from eating disorders
Healthspun’s recommendations for the top online support groups for eating disorders in the year 2022
Way Health, a non-diet mobile application that assists in the process of reconciling your relationship with food
ThirdwheelED is a blog written by two people who identify as gay and who talk about recovery from eating disorders from “the twin perspectives of patient and atypical caregiver.”
The eating disorder recovery blogs that Healthspun recommends the most

Keep in mind, however, that full-threshold eating disorders have a significant risk of causing serious or even fatal complications. If you suspect that you have symptoms that are consistent with an eating problem, it is very vital to get in touch with a medical expert as soon as possible.

Groups that can assist you in gaining access to medical care

There are several obstacles on the path to recovery, such as the inability to pay for therapy or the difficulty in locating a healthcare provider who is knowledgeable about ED. However, there are several organizations that can assist in mitigating the effects of some of these difficulties.

You might be interested in joining one or more of these groups:

Project HEAL is a non-profit organization that provides financial aid for the treatment of ED, including money and assistance in managing insurance policies. Eyre serves as the organization’s CEO.
Equip Health is a telehealth platform that was co-created by Project HEAL cofounder Kristina Saffran to support individuals struggling with eating disorders using the evidence-based modality of Family Based Treatment.
Arise is a brand new digital healthcare firm that provides ED and disordered eating rehabilitation programs for no cost or at a very minimal cost.
The FEDUP Collective is a trans-led organization that helps trans people connect to free and low cost emergency department care, grocery funds, meal support, and other resources. Additionally, the FEDUP Collective maintains a list of trans-identified and trans-allied clinicians as well as a scorecard ranking ED recovery facilities for Tran’s inclusion.
The Association for Size Diversity and Health is an organization that advocates for the Health at Every Size framework, offers assistance to those who are affected by fatphobia, and is actively working on building a list of weight-inclusive healthcare providers.
The Nationwide Eating Disorders Association is a national group that oversees a helpline and has produced a list of services that are either free or available at a reduced cost. They also provide information about how to get treatment for eating disorders.
The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders is a non-profit organization that provides peer-led support for individuals who have restrictive disordered eating habits. This support comes in the form of a helpline, a mentorship program, treatment referrals, as well as a directory of eating disorder-informed clinicians.
The National Alliance for Eating Disorders is a non-profit organization that provides virtual support groups that are conducted by therapists, referrals to treatment, and a helpline for people who are in need of assistance. Additionally, they provide direct outpatient services in South Florida.

Bottom Line

It is becoming more common to use the word “disordered eating,” but it can be difficult to assess whether or not your eating habits might fall into that category.

In general, disordered eating refers to food or diet-related behaviors that are in line with the pathophysiology of eating disorders but are not deemed severe or regular enough to meet the criteria for a diagnosis of an eating disorder.

Eating disorders can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including compensatory behaviors, binge eating, purging oneself of food after eating too much, or even following fad diets. These behaviors are also prevalent in those who have eating disorders, and the experts agree that distinguishing between the two can be difficult at times.

According to Levy, “I see eating disorders as a diagnosis from a physician under the DSM-5, whereas disordered eating might appear like any form of dieting that could grow into an eating disorder.”

However, older adults, people with higher body weights, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with lower incomes, and men also experience it — and in some cases, even more frequently than women and girls who are young, thin, white, cisgender, and affluent. Cultural ideas about disordered eating give priority to young women and girls who fit this profile.

It is critical that you consult with a healthcare practitioner who is knowledgeable about eating disorders if you have concerns that you may be struggling with an ED or if you are unsure as to whether your behaviors might be indicative of an ED.

However, you do not need to have significant difficulties in your day-to-day functioning in order to be entitled to support.

“I think we should all presume, baseline, given what I understand to be true about disordered eating and eating disorders, that we all have opportunity to heal our relationships with food,” Eyre said. “Given what I understand to be true about disordered eating and eating disorders.”