DEFINING THE PROBLEM

anorexia nervosa

Sufferers keep their weight low by limiting their food intake; they often have a distorted body image, perceiving themselves as fat when they’re actually underweight, often dangerously so.

bulimia nervosa

People with bulimia are in a cycle of eating before regularly ‘purging’ by making themselves sick, using laxatives or exercising excessively. Often, their weight looks normal, which hides this illness.

binge eating

Sufferers often feel out of control and might regularly eat large quantities of food in a short period.

Unlike bulimia, they don’t purge themselves, so obesity can become an issue.

other specified feeding and eating disorders (osfed)

Although the symptoms may not be clear-cut, they can include elements of the three main disorders or other abnormal eating patterns.