Eating problems

Learn about eating problems, including possible causes, symptoms and how to access treatment and support. Includes self-care tips for helping yourself, plus guidance for friends and family.

This page is also available in Welsh.

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Types of eating disorders

On this page:

What is an eating disorder?

An eating disorder is a medical diagnosis based on your eating patterns. It involves medical tests on your weight, blood and body mass index (BMI).

An eating problem means any relationship with food that you find difficult. Not every eating problem will be diagnosed as a disorder.

Eating disorders are a diagnosed type of eating problem.

Diagnosing an eating disorder

Food is one of the many mediums through which our emotions and distress can be expressed.

Understanding feelings and behaviours linked to certain eating disorders can be helpful. This is true even if you don't have a diagnosis. Or, if you prefer to consider your experiences in a non-medical way.

There can be complications in getting a formal diagnosis:

If your problems with eating aren't easy for your doctor to categorise, they might not give you a diagnosis.
You may have a very difficult relationship with food which affects your mental health, but doesn't fit into any current diagnoses.
You may be experiencing more than one eating disorder, or symptoms from multiple disorders.

Body mass index (BMI) and diagnosis

In your assessment, your BMI should not be the only factor your GP or hospital doctor takes into account.

Unfortunately, diagnosis and treatment for an eating disorder can be related to your weight. You could have a serious problem with eating, but without meeting the criteria for diagnosis. This can feel very frustrating.

However, you should not need an eating disorder diagnosis to get treatment for an eating problem.

Usually, your recommended treatment will be for the disorder most similar to your eating problem.

See our page on treatment and support for more details.

Bulimia

If you get a bulimia diagnosis (known as bulimia nervosa), you may experience a cycle of what's called bingeing and purging.

Bingeing is eating large amounts of food in one go. You might do this when you're struggling with feelings or problems in your life.
Purging is acting to get rid of the food you have eaten after bingeing. You might feel guilty or ashamed of what you've eaten.

Bulimia and your feelings

If you experience bulimia, you might feel:

shame and guilt
hatred towards your body
that you are fat
scared of being found out by family and friends
depressed or anxious
lonely, especially if no one knows about your diagnosis
very low, sad and upset
quick or sudden changes in your mood
stuck in a cycle of feeling out of control and trying to regain it
numb, as if feelings are blocked out by bingeing or purging.

Bulimia and your actions

If you experience bulimia, you might:

eat lots of food in one go (binge)
go through daily cycles of eating, feeling guilty, purging, feeling hungry and eating again
binge on foods that you think are bad for you
starve yourself in between binges
eat in secret
crave only certain types of food
try to get rid of food you've eaten (purge) by making yourself sick, using laxatives or exercising a lot.

Bulimia and your body

While experiencing bulimia, you might:

stay roughly the same weight, or experience frequent weight changes
be dehydrated, which can cause bad skin
get irregular periods or none at all, if you usually menstruate
harm your teeth and get a sore throat from stomach acid, by making yourself sick
develop irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), stretched colon, constipation or heart disease, if you use laxatives.

A young man coping with bulimia: my experience

"Eating disorders in men, just like depression, should not be a taboo subject."

Read Craig's story

Anorexia

If you get an anorexia diagnosis (known as anorexia nervosa), you’re not eating enough food. This means you're not getting the energy you need to stay healthy.

Some people think anorexia is about slimming and dieting, but it's much more complex. At its core, it's often connected to low self-esteem, negative self-image and feelings of intense distress.

Anorexia and your feelings

If you experience anorexia, you might feel:

unable to think about anything other than food
like you need to be perfect or you're never good enough
lonely, especially if no one knows about your diagnosis
a need for control, that you feel you lose by eating
that you're hiding things from family and friends
that you are fat and scared of putting on weight
that losing weight isn't enough
like you want to disappear
angry if someone challenges you about your weight or food intake
tired and not interested in things you normally enjoy
like you cannot see a way out, even depressed or suicidal
anxious or panicky, especially around mealtimes
like it's an achievement to deny yourself food or over-exercise.

Anorexia and your actions

If you experience anorexia, you might:

reduce your food intake or totally stop eating
spend a lot of time counting calories of everything you eat
hide food or secretly throw it away
avoid 'dangerous' foods, like those with high amounts of calories or fat
read recipe books and cook meals for others, without eating them yourself
use drugs that claim to reduce your appetite or speed up digestion
spend your time thinking about losing weight, checking and weighing yourself
exercise a lot, with strict rules about how much you must do
develop very structured eating times
make up rules about food – for example listing 'good' and 'bad' types or only eating certain colours of food.

"I started starving myself as a means of control. Everything else had been taken out of my control, but no one could force me to eat. I'd enjoy and crave the feeling of my stomach being... empty."

Anorexia and your body

While experiencing anorexia, you might:

weigh less than you do normally, or should do for your age and height
lose weight very fast
become physically underdeveloped, especially if anorexia starts before puberty
feel very cold and weak
move around more slowly than normal
have irregular periods or none at all, if you usually menstruate
lose your hair or start to have very thin hair
develop fine fuzzy hair on your arms and face, called lanugo
lose interest in sex, or find you're not able to have or enjoy sex
find it hard to concentrate
develop fragile bones or problems like osteoporosis – this is a disease that makes your bones break easily.

Talking about eating problems

"I was scared I wouldn't 'qualify' as anorexic, that I wasn't 'good enough' at it."

Read Dave's story

Binge eating disorder

If you get a diagnosis for binge eating disorder, you might feel unable to stop eating, even if you want to.

With binge eating disorder, you might rely on food to make you feel better. You might also use food to hide difficult feelings. It is sometimes described as 'compulsive eating'.

Binge eating disorder and your feelings

If you experience binge eating disorder, you might feel:

out of control
as if you can't stop eating
ashamed of how much you eat
lonely and empty
very low, even worthless
unhappy about your body
stressed and anxious.

Binge eating disorder and your actions

If you experience binge eating disorder, you might:

eat large amounts all at once (bingeing)
eat without really thinking about it, especially when doing other things
often eat unhealthy food
eat for comfort when you feel stressed, upset, bored or unhappy
eat until you feel uncomfortably full or sick
hide how much you are eating
find dieting hard whenever you try it.

"I dread any event with a buffet. Because I know I'll eat and I'll keep eating and I won't even enjoy it but I'll eat because I feel somehow I have to. I'll eat even when I'm feeling full, when I'm feeling bloated, feeling pain in my gut, feeling sick."

Binge eating disorder and your body

While experiencing binge eating disorder, you might:

put on weight
feel sick a lot
have shortness of breath
get sugar highs and lows, which means having bursts of energy then feeling very tried
develop health problems, such as acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
develop problems linked to being overweight – for example type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or joint and muscle pain.

Binge eating disorder: it felt momentous to have a calm, ordinary conversation about it

"The first GP I told was clueless. But another GP encouraged me to tell her more, and I learnt about the help I could get."

Read this story

Other specified feeding and eating disorder (OSFED)

If you get an OSFED diagnosis, you have an eating disorder. However, you don't meet all the criteria for anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder.

This doesn't mean that your eating disorder is less serious.

OSFED just means that your disorder doesn't fit into current diagnoses. Getting a diagnosis of OSFED can help you access treatment and support.

You can experience any feelings, actions or body changes linked to other eating disorders.

Previously, OSFED was known as ‘eating disorder not otherwise specified’ (EDNOS).

For more details, see Beat's information about OSFED.

"I was assessed by my local eating disorder service and was given a diagnosis of EDNOS. I managed to get my eating back on track. I continue to work on the feelings with the help of my therapist and am very much in recovery."

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