D IET VS E ATING D ISORDER H OW TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE …

(APPG report, 2012) Up to half of young girls fear becoming fat and engage in dieting Girls as young as five are worried about their size and the way they look One third of boys aged 8-12 have dieted to try and lose weight

D IETING IS VERY COMMON AMONGST TEENAGERS … …but can you spot the difference between a diet and an eating disorder?

1 Highly restrictive diet 2 No slips 3 Cuts out food groups 4 Other weight control methods used 5 Panics at the thought of eating out 6 Diet success used as a measure of self-success T ELL -T ALE S IGNS

One of the key differences between a regular diet and an eating disorder is one of scale. Generally speaking, a young person with an eating disorder will restrict their calorie intake to only a few hundred calories per day. Allowing themselves to eat maybe less than half the number of calories they are likely to expend in a day. 1. H IGHLY R ESTRICTIVE D IET

Very small portion sizesSkipping meals altogetherThrowing food awayAlways choosing low fat / diet versionsAvoiding high calorie foods like sweets or puddings L OOK OUT FOR

Eating disorders sufferers tend to be very black and white in their thinking and go with an all or nothing approach. They will very rarely deviate from their prescribed diet, and if they do, they are likely to punish themselves by eating even less for the rest of the day, or doing heavy exercise or similar. 2. N O S LIPS

Very specific dietary rulesRigidly sticking to their rulesNot deviating even for e.g. birthday cakeDisproportionate upset if their diet slips L OOK OUT FOR

People with eating disorders feel very comfortable with rules and are often much happier to create a very strict rule e.g. ‘No Wheat’ and stick to it carefully rather than attempting to find compromises and alternatives to foods they perceive as dangerous. 3. C UTS OUT FOOD GROUPS

Adopting vegetarian or vegan diet Cutting out food due to intolerance e.g. dairy, wheat, gluten Other rules such as ‘no puddings’ L OOK OUT FOR

In addition to controlling their food intake, other weight control methods might be used such as heavy exercise or laxative use. 4. O THER WEIGHT CONTROL METHODS

Exercising for several hours a day Constantly finding ways to burn calories, may dislike sitting still Use of laxatives of diureticsSelf-induced vomiting L OOK OUT FOR

A young person with an eating disorder would find the idea of eating out with friends terrifying. The thought of having to consume more calories than they’ve budgeted for or having to eat a meal where they’re not completely in control and may not know the exact ingredients and/or calorie content is likely to induce feelings of panic 5. P ANICS ABOUT EATING OUT

Avoids eating in unfamiliar placesBecomes generally more unsociableSticks to similar familiar foods L OOK OUT FOR

Weight gain will be taken very badly and even a small gain will make the young person feel like a failure as will failing to stick to their diet rules. They will often also assume that everyone else is also judging them according to their weight and dieting. 6. S UCCESS MEASURED BY DIET

Obsessing over insignificant weight gainJudging themselves according to their weight Getting very angry over diet deviationsDescribing themselves negatively using ‘fat talk’ L OOK OUT FOR