Do I Have an Eating Disorder?

Eating disorders are mental health conditions that affect your eating patterns. Many eating disorders also affect your weight and body image.

Eating disorders can affect people of all genders, ages, and ethnicities. It’s also important to know that people with eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes. In other words, you can’t tell that someone has an eating disorder just by how they look. 

Eating disorders can also negatively affect your health, especially if you don’t get treatment. Read on for more information about the different types of eating disorders, and warning signs that you — or a loved one — might have one. 

What are the 8 types of eating disorders?

The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. But there are actually eight different types of eating disorders. Here they are, in alphabetical order:

1) Anorexia: People with anorexia eat less food than their body needs to stay healthy. This often (but not always) leads to a low body weight. Some people with anorexia also binge eat or purge. You can read more about anorexia in our GoodRx guides to anorexia and atypical anorexia.

2) Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID): People with ARFID limit certain types of food or amounts of food. It’s different from anorexia because most people with ARFID are not preoccupied with their weight or body shape.

3) Bulimia: People with bulimia have repeated cycles of binge eating and purging. These people can have bodies of all shapes and sizes. If you have a very low body weight, you are more likely to be diagnosed with anorexia. Read more about bulimia in our GoodRx guide to bulimia.

4) Binge eating disorder (BED): People with BED have repeated episodes of binge eating. These episodes happen at least once a week and cause shame or distress. Learn more about binge eating disorder in this article from GoodRx.

5) Night eating syndrome: This disorder causes people to eat large amounts of food at night — either in the evening after dinner, or during the night (while awake). The night eating happens often enough that it causes distress and gets in the way of your daily life.

6) Pica: People with pica eat things that aren’t normally considered food, like paper, paint, or hair. 

7) Purging disorder: People with purging disorder try to change their weight by purging with exercise, vomiting, laxatives, or diuretics (water pills) — even though this doesn’t really work. They don’t usually binge eat.

8) Rumination disorder: This disorder causes you to regurgitate food (bring up already swallowed food). The food is then either re-eaten or spit out.

How do I know if I have an eating disorder?

It’s normal to think about your body shape and size, or to change your eating habits from time to time. But if your food-related thoughts and behaviors are starting to cause a lot of distress — or even interfere with your daily life — it’s possible that you could have an eating disorder. 

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you make yourself throw up because you feel too full?

• Do you worry that you’ve lost control over how much you eat?

• Have you recently lost 15 pounds or more in a 3-month period?

• Do you think you are too fat, even though others say you are too thin?

• Does food dominate your life?

If you answered yes to two or more questions, it’s possible that you could have an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia. 

What are symptoms of an eating disorder?

Each different eating disorder has its own unique symptoms. But here are general symptoms you might notice if you have an eating disorder:

• You think a lot about your body weight and shape. 

• You think a lot about food.

• You often feel unhappy about your body shape and size.

• You feel anxious or irritable around mealtimes.

• You feel anxious about gaining weight.

• You change your eating habits a lot.

• You sometimes feel out of control when you eat.

• You sometimes feel bad or guilty after eating.

• You hide your eating habits.

If you have an eating disorder, you might also try to control your body shape by:

• Making yourself throw up

• Exercising a lot

• Misusing laxatives 

• Misusing diuretics (water pills)

• Going without food or water, even when you feel hungry or thirsty

• Lowering the amount of calories you consume

You can read more about the symptoms for different types of eating disorders in our GoodRx guides to anorexia, atypical anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. 

Can I take a test to tell if I have an eating disorder?

If you’re concerned about an eating disorder, talk to your healthcare provider. They can talk with you about your concerns and help you understand whether you have an eating disorder.

If you’re not sure whether you’re ready to talk to a professional, the National Eating Disorder Association has a free online screening test. Though this online test can’t diagnose you with an eating disorder, it can help you understand whether you might have one. 

What are some eating disorder warning signs in friends and family?

It can be hard to tell whether a friend or family member has an eating disorder. Remember: People with eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes. You can’t tell someone has an eating disorder just by looking at them. 

Here are some signs that a person might have an eating disorder:

• They’ve lost a lot of weight quickly.

• Their weight goes up and down a lot.

• They have signs of vomiting a lot, like face and jaw swelling, calluses on their knuckles, tooth damage, or bad breath.

• They seem overly concerned about food, weight, and body shape.

• They eat in private or avoid meals with other people.

• They hide food.

• They make frequent trips to the bathroom, especially around mealtime.

• They wear baggy clothes to disguise their body shape.

• They have a lot of rituals and rules around eating food.

• They’re very sensitive to comments about their body shape and weight.

Keep in mind that many people with eating disorders are also private about their eating disorder behaviors. They may hide their behaviors to keep other people from knowing that they have an eating disorder.

Who gets eating disorders? 

There is no single thing that causes eating disorders. It’s likely that eating disorders are caused by a combination of your unique biology and personal history — just like other health conditions. 

Here are some things that researchers believe make you more likely to get an eating disorder.

Your biology

• Your genes (DNA)

• Your brain function

• Having a close relative with an eating disorder

• Going on a lot of diets

• Having diabetes Type 1

Your psychology

• Identifying as a perfectionist 

• Having an anxiety disorder 

• Having obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

• Having a poor body image 

Your life experiences

• Being exposed to certain cultural messages

• Being bullied or teased 

• Experiencing traumatic events during your lifetime

• Having parents or caregivers who experienced traumatic events

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Sarah Gupta, MD

Sarah Gupta, MD, is a licensed physician with a special interest in mental health, sex and gender, eating disorders, and the human microbiome. She is currently board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Edited by:

Sophie Vergnaud, MD

Sophie Vergnaud, MD, is the Senior Medical Director for GoodRx Health. An experienced and dedicated pulmonologist and hospitalist, she spent a decade practicing and teaching clinical medicine at academic hospitals throughout London before transitioning to a career in health education and health technology.

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