What are Eating Disorders?

“Eating disorders” is a term that covers a wide range of experiences. The term “eating disorders” refers to distress or discomfort around food and in your body and the different behaviours that go along with these feelings. What this looks and feels like varies a lot from person to person.

You can’t tell if someone has an eating disorder just by looking at them—it's a lot more complicated than that!

Eating disorders can happen to anyone; they are not limited to one gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or education level. They can also happen at the same time as other mental health challenges like anxiety and depression.

In clinical settings (like at doctors’ offices, hospitals, mental health centres, etc.) this term can used to refer to several specific diagnoses. You might have heard of the following diagnoses.

Diagnoses

Anorexia nervosa (AN)
Bulimia nervosa (BN)
Binge eating disorder (BED)
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
Other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED)
Unspecified feeding or eating disorder (UFED)
Pica
Rumination disorder

These diagnoses are not the whole picture of eating disorders.

Someone can experience distress or discomfort around food and their body without ever being diagnosed with an eating disorder.

How may someone describe their experience?

People might use other words to describe their experiences; these include disordered eating, eating distress, problems with food, and more. Sometimes, people will describe body dissatisfaction or body image challenges . However, not everyone with an eating disorder experiences these.

It can sometimes be hard to figure out what is an eating disorder and what is not, especially in a world where dieting is really common. An eating disorder goes beyond a diet when the way someone feels about food and their body impacts different parts of a person’s life, including their emotional experience, social and family life, and/or physical health. For example, they can lead to people withdrawing from friends and activities they love and/or being consumed by thoughts about food, their body, and/or exercise.

What causes an eating disorder?

Eating disorders are not something people choose to have and they can have devastating consequences.

There is not a single cause for eating disorders; researchers have looked at the complicated interaction between genetic, biological, social, and systemic factors that can result in eating disorders.

How to recognize an eating disorder?

Eating disorders are not always recognized.

As noted above, you can’t decide if someone has an eating disorder just by looking at them. Sometimes eating disorders are missed when others (e.g., clinicians, family members, friends, school staff, etc.) don’t ask the right questions. People with eating disorders also might not always seek help, for many different reasons. They might not recognize that there is an issue or see their challenges as “bad enough” or might feel ashamed about their experiences. They might also not have someone they trust in their lives who they can go to with their concerns.

Each eating disorder is unique.

If you are concerned about yourself or someone you know, we encourage you to reach out and seek help. The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) has a find a provider tool that can help you figure out where to begin and you can use NEDIC’s online chat and phone services if you would like guidance

The content of this webpage was co-created in collaboration with the FREEDcan youth advisory and staff from FREEDcan.