What is an eating problem?
An eating problem is any relationship with food that you find difficult. This page explains more about eating problems and disorders, including what the signs are and how they can affect your life.
What's the difference between eating problems and eating disorders?
- An eating problem is any relationship with food that you find difficult.
- An eating disorder is a medical diagnosis. This diagnosis is based on your eating patterns and includes medical tests on your weight, blood and body mass index (BMI). See our page on diagnosed eating disorders for more information.
But eating problems and disorders are not just about food. They can be about painful feelings that you may find hard to express, face or resolve. Focusing on food can be a way of hiding these feelings and problems, including from yourself.
Many people think that someone with an eating problem will be overweight or underweight. People might also think that certain weights are linked to certain eating problems. Neither of these things are true.
Anyone can experience eating problems - whatever their age, gender, weight or background.
James's experience with eating disorders
James was a teenager when he developed an eating problem. Stereotyping around eating disorders meant it took time for people to realise what James was experiencing. Watch James' story to learn about barriers to getting help, how yoga helped him accept his body and find his community.
I wish people would move away from stereotypes and understand that eating disorders are not only to do with weight, but thoughts, feelings and behaviours – regardless of the number a scale shows, and regardless of physical appearance.
What are the signs of an eating problem?
Food plays a significant part in our lives. Most of us will spend time thinking about what we eat. Sometimes we might:
- Have cravings
- Eat more than usual
- Lose our appetite
- Try to eat healthier
Changing your eating habits like this every now and again is normal. But if you feel like food and eating is taking over your life, it may become a problem.
There are many ways that eating problems can affect the way you act and think about food. If you have an eating problem, you might be familiar with some of the behaviours listed below.
Warning: this list includes descriptions of behaviours to do with food. This can be upsetting or triggering. If you're feeling vulnerable at the moment, you might want to move on to the next section.
If you have an eating problem, you might:
- Restrict the amount of food you eat
- Eat more than you need, or feel out of control when you eat
- Eat regularly in secret or have a fear of eating in public
- Feel very anxious about eating or digesting food
- Eat in response to difficult emotions without feeling physically hungry
- Stick to a rigid set of diet rules or certain foods
- Feel anxious and upset if you have to eat something else
- Do things to get rid of what you eat, sometimes known as purging
- Feel disgusted at the idea of eating certain foods
- Eat things that aren't really food, such as dirt, soap or paint
- Feel scared of certain types of food
- Think about food and eating a lot, even all the time
- Compare your body to other people's and think a lot about its shape or size
- Check, test and weigh your body very often
- Base your self-worth on your weight, or whether you pass your checks and tests
Watch: Do I have an eating disorder?
Watch our animation to learn more about eating disorders, including signs and symptoms, and where to get help.
How might eating problems affect my life?
Eating problems can affect you in lots of ways.
You might feel:
You might find that:
- It's hard to concentrate on your work, studies or hobbies
- Controlling food or eating has become the most important thing in your life
- It's hard to be spontaneous, to travel or to go anywhere new
- Your appearance is changing or has changed
- You're bullied or teased about food and eating
- You develop short-term or long-term physical health problems
- You want to avoid socialising, dates and restaurants or eating in public
- You have to drop out of school or college, leave work or stop doing things you enjoy.
With other people in your life, you might feel that:
- You're distant from those who don't know how you feel, or who are upset they can't do more to help
- They focus a lot on the effect eating problems can have on your body
- They only think you have a problem if your body looks different to how they think it should be
- They sometimes comment on your appearance in ways you find difficult
- They don't really understand how complicated things are for you.
Sandeep's experience living with eating disorders
Sandeep was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). But she is much more than her diagnosis. Hear how her family, faith and supporting others helped Sandeep with her recovery.
Warning: Sandeep mentions that she is a suicide survivor.
How do I know if I have a problem?
As it may feel like part of your everyday life, you might be unsure if your issue with food and eating is a problem. But if your relationship with food and eating is affecting your life, you can seek help. It doesn't matter how much you weigh or what your body looks like.
Some people don't seek help because they think their problem is not serious enough. Sometimes they do not feel ‘ill enough’ to have an eating problem.
It's also possible to have problems with eating and keep them hidden. Sometimes this can be for very long time.
I never looked ‘ill’. When I read about eating disorders it was always girls with acute anorexia. Because that wasn’t me, I felt like my behaviour was just a bizarre quirk I’d made up.
Do I have a right to recovery?
How do I have a right to recovery if I was never 'really' ill?
Eating problems and other mental health problems
Many people with eating problems also have other mental health problems. Some common experiences include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Phobias of certain foods
- Issues with self-esteem and body image
- Forms of self-harm – you may see your eating problem as a form of self-harm, or may hurt yourself in other ways too
- body dysmorphic disorder, which is an anxiety disorder linked to body image
Food is one of many ways in which anxiety, depression or obsessive-compulsive behaviours can be expressed.
My eating disorder has always gone hand in hand with depression and anxiety in such a way that they haven't felt like distinct, discrete illnesses but like one issue.
This information was published in January 2021. We will revise it in 2024.
References and bibliography available on request.
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