By Alan Peterson, M.D.

If you have an eating disorder, you are very concerned about the way that your body looks, and you use food to control your emotions.  You want very much to be thin and are afraid of becoming fat. 

Eating disorders result from a strong sense of emotional need or pain.  If you have an eating disorder, you might think that you would be happy if you reach a certain weight.  The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. 

If you have anorexia nervosa, you are underweight but think that you are overweight.  You might try to lose weight by not eating much, eating only certain kinds of foods, or exercising too much. 

If you have bulimia nervosa, you might be normal weight or overweight but are not happy with it.  If you have bulimia, you will eat a lot of food, then try to get rid of it by making yourself vomit or by taking water pills or laxatives.  This is called binging or purging. 

Eating disorders can cause serious medical problems and can even kill you.  It can damage your heart, skin, muscles, teeth, and stomach.  If you have an eating disorder you can also develop a condition called osteoporosis, where your bones weaken and break very easily.  You might also develop a significant mental illness.

If you have an eating disorder, you will probably spend a lot of time worrying how you look.  You might feel guilty when you eat or think that you haven’t exercised enough.  You might feel bad about yourself when you think that you weigh too much.  Other people might tell you that you have lost too much weight, even though you think you weigh too much.  You might feel tired.  If you are a woman, you might stop having periods.  Fine hair might start growing on your body.  If you use water pills or laxatives to lose weight, you might get muscle cramps or even have heart palpitations and can develop severe electrolyte abnormalities.

Your doctor will want to talk to you and your family.  You will be asked questions about how you feel about yourself, what you eat, and how much you exercise.  Your doctor will give you a physical exam and might order blood tests or other tests.  If your doctor thinks that you have an eating disorder, you might be referred to a specialist so that you can get additional treatment.  Good nutrition and psychological or psychiatric counseling can help you recover from an eating disorder.