Overeating related to tension, poor nutritional habits, and food fads are relatively common eating problems for youngsters. In addition, two psychiatric eating disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia, are on the increase among teenage girls and young women. These two disorders also occur in boys, but much less often. Many health care professionals are trained to evaluate, diagnose, and treat these psychiatric disorders, which are characterized by a preoccupation with food.
Parents frequently ask how to identify symptoms of anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
The fact is that many teenagers are successful in hiding these serious and sometimes fatal disorders from their families for many months or years. At the same time, she suffers from low self-esteem, irrationally believing she is fat regardless of how thin she becomes. In a relentless pursuit to be thin, the girl starves herself. This often reaches the point of serious damage to the body, and in a small number of cases may lead to death. The symptoms of bulimia are different from those of anorexia nervosa.