Eating problems

If your child or young adult is eating in a seriously unhealthy way, they may have an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or compulsive eating.

Eating habits can be affected by stress, insecurity and peer pressure. Young people may choose to eat, or not eat, because they feel depressed, lonely, frustrated, angry or bored. They may be insecure about changes in their body, or becoming an adult. Eating, purging or restricting food may become their coping mechanism.

Eating disorders can strike people of any age: girls and boys, women and men. Girls are more commonly affected than boys, but it's certainly not just a female issue. With boys and men, issues of body image may be linked more with size, strength and fitness, rather than losing weight. 

Having a child or young adult with an eating disorder can be extremely difficult. Keep in mind that while the physical effects can be serious, this is a mental illness. Try to focus past purely what is happening, and on why it is happening. Help them to feel secure, loved, valued and respected. And through it all, remember that people do recover.

Helpful tips

• Start early – the best time to help your child develop a positive body image is well before they are a teenager.
• Help your child identify what they like and don't like about themselves – encourage them to express their feelings.
• Try to deal with any issues you have yourself about eating and body image.
• Avoid dividing foods into 'good' and 'bad', but encourage healthy eating and make sure there are plenty of healthy snacks around home.
• Don't accept any family members criticising another's looks.
• Explain how television footage or magazine photos may be manipulated (such as with lighting or computer retouching) to make people look slimmer or more muscular.
• Pay attention to heavy physical training in a sport like running, cycling or gymnastics – where fitness is closely linked to body weight.
• If necessary, provide information on support services – but respect their confidentiality and personal rights.