What is an eating disorder?
Eating disorders are mental health conditions that cause a person to develop disordered or extreme eating habits. Common types of eating disorders include:
- Anorexia – severely restricting food and becoming dangerously underweight
- Bulimia – eating large amounts of food in a short space of time, then purging (vomiting, using laxatives, excessive exercise)
- Orthorexia – obsessing about healthy eating
Eating disorders affect everyone differently. They can be mild or serious. Eating disorders are also linked to other mental health conditions, like depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Early diagnosis and treatment helps improve health and recovery of the person with the eating disorder.