Signs Of An Eating Disorder In Adults

Nearly 9% of the entire US population — the equivalent of 28.8 million people — will experience an eating disorder in their lives [1]. Eating disorders are prevalent but often go undetected and untreated.

An eating disorder means having a relationship with food or body weight that leads to compulsive behaviors such as binge eating, forced vomiting, and avoiding foods.

Among adults, eating disorders can be difficult to detect due to busy work schedules, pressure to look a certain way, and individuals’ ability to hide behaviors. Knowing the signs can mean getting treatment sooner to heal and preventing early-stage behaviors from becoming damaging responses to food.

What Is an Eating Disorder?

Eating disorders affect how a person thinks and acts toward food, weight, and eating. They can lead to dangerous ways of consuming, or not consuming, food. If they’re not treated, they can cause long-term health problems or death.

Eating disorders can be the result of, or exacerbated by a mental health disorder. Eating disorders can also increase the risk of developing a mental health disorder [2] [3]. People with an eating disorder have a higher risk of suicide [4].

The most common types of eating disorders are:

• Anorexia: Having a strong fear of gaining weight and having a view of weight that isn’t realistic. Often involves limiting food intake, overexercising, using laxatives, and vomiting after eating. Anorexia can severely disrupt a person’s daily life.

• Bulimia: Eating large amounts of food in a seemingly uncontrolled way, followed by vomiting or purging (overexercising, not eating for periods of time, using laxatives). Guilt, shame, and fear of gaining weight can drive purging.

• Binge-eating: Eating large amounts of food in a short period, even if not hungry. Unlike bulimia, binge-eating does not result in purging, but can cause guilt, disgust, or shame. People with this disorder typically binge eat once a week.

• Avoidant food intake: Highly limited eating that may cut out or restrict certain foods. Behavior may be driven by food’s appearance or taste, or by a fear of choking or other possibilities when eating. This disorder isn’t motivated by weight or appearance.

Women are twice as likely as men to develop an eating disorder. Transgender and nonbinary people are more likely to develop an eating disorder compared to cisgender people [1]. Most eating disorders develop in adolescence, but if untreated, last well into adulthood.

What Are The Effects of an Eating Disorder?

Eating disorders have a serious impact on physical and mental health. Approximately one person dies due to an eating disorder every 52 minutes [5]. Eating disorders can affect a person’s daily functioning and lead to chronic illness.

The effects of an eating disorder vary according to the disorder and individual factors, but include:

• Bloating and stomach pain

• Problems sleeping

• Nausea

• Muscle cramps

• Fainting

• Lower libido

• Anemia

• Changes in menstruation

• Tooth cavities and reduced enamel (due to vomiting)

• Seizures

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Low energy levels

• Liver inflammation

• Bacterial infections

• Kidney failure

• Constipation

• Heart failure

Treatment exists for eating disorders and can successfully reduce the risk and repercussions of the effects above. In some cases, treatment can even reverse serious effects caused by an eating disorder.

Challenges Recognizing Eating Disorders in Adults

Adults tend to be more skilled at concealing signs of an eating disorder. Years of ingrained behaviors mean that adults can often “mask” a disorder well. At the same time, deeper layers of trauma and a higher rate of co-occurring mental health conditions can make eating disorders more complex in adults.

The aging process can even bring new risks of developing an eating disorder. Sensory sharpness for taste and smell lowers with time, and older adults may change their relationship with food as a result.

Social factors play a role, too. ‘Healthy eating’ trends and popularized diets can cover eating disorders.

Adults may feel embarrassed to seek help for an eating disorder. Some adults report being denied treatment for an eating disorder [6]. Research to understand eating disorders among adults is still limited, with most studies prioritizing the condition among young people.

Common Signs of an Eating Disorder

Eating disorders manifest in different ways, but common indicators of disordered eating are:

• Spending lots of time worrying about eating, weight, and body shape

• Avoiding situations where food is involved

• Forceful vomiting

• Taking laxatives after eating

• Overexercising

• Having strict routines around food

• Eating in secret

• Feeling shame, disgust or guilt around eating and food

• Withdrawing from social activities

• Feeling consistently tired and faint

• Tingling or numbness in limbs

• Delayed or stopped menstruation

• Cutting food into small pieces and eating very slowly

• Eating a lot of food very fast

Individuals with an eating disorder are also more likely to have mental health disorders such as depression, social anxiety, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) [3]. 

Treatment For Eating Disorders

People can make a full recovery from eating disorders with treatment. Care includes evidence-backed therapies to identify and reframe thoughts and behavior patterns around food. Nutritional counseling supports people to create healthy eating plans, and achieve and maintain a healthy weight and self-image.

Some treatment may include medication to reduce symptoms of a co-occurring mental health disorder.

Research repeatedly shows that adults with eating disorders make a long-term recovery following treatment [7] [8]. The earlier treatment is given, the better the outcomes [9].

Compassionate Care at Worthy Wellness Center

At Worthy Wellness Center, we offer evidence-based, compassionate care for eating disorders and other mental health challenges. Our programs are carried out by licensed, empathetic professionals who provide personalized treatment within a judgment-free space.

Through a combination of therapies and holistic activities, we help you wherever you are on your recovery journey to find stability and improved health.

Our treatment center is located in Carlsbad, in North County, San Diego, one block from the beach. We integrate our environment with treatment, encouraging program attendees to use nature as part of their physical, mental, and spiritual rehabilitation.

You can heal. Call our admissions team today.

Sources

[1] National Eating Disorders. Statistics. nationaleatingdisorders.org.

[2] National Institute of Mental Health. (2024). Eating Disorders: What You Need to Know. nimh.nih.gov.

[3] Joo Tang, E. et al. (March 2023). The association between eating disorders and mental health: an umbrella review. Journal of Eating Disorders.

[4] Smith, A. et al. (August 2017). Eating disorders and suicidality: what we know, what we don’t know, and suggestions for future research. Current Opinion.

[5] National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Eating Disorder Statistics. anad.org.

[6] Psychology Today. (February 2022). Why We Don’t Know Enough About Eating Disorders in Adults. psychologytoday.com.

[7] Eddy, K. et al. (February 2021). Recovery From Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa at 22-Year Follow-Up. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

[8] Rydberg Dobrescu, S. et al. (May 2019). Anorexia nervosa: 30-year outcome. British Journal of Psychiatry.

[9] Mills, R. et al. (December 2023). A Narrative Review of Early Intervention for Eating Disorders: Barriers and Facilitators. Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics.