Signs of Anorexia

Some common signs of anorexia include fear of fatness or pursuit of thinness, preoccupation with body weight and a distorted perception of body shape or weight. Other signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa include:

Behavioural signs

If someone is developing anorexia, often changes in behaviour are noticeable before changes to physical appearance. Signs include:

Saying they have eaten earlier or will eat later, or that they have eaten more than they have
Not being truthful about how much weight they have lost
Strict dieting and avoiding food they think is fattening
Counting the calories in food excessively
Eating only low-calorie food, or otherwise limiting the type of food they will eat
Missing meals (fasting)
Avoiding eating with other people
Hiding food
Cutting food into tiny pieces to make it less obvious they have eaten little or to make food easier to swallow
Eating very slowly
Taking appetite suppressants, such as slimming or diet pills
Obsessive and/or rigid behaviour, particularly around food
Irritability
Excessive exercising – this might involve exercising when not physically well enough to do so, or feeling guilty or anxious about not exercising
Vomiting or misusing laxatives (purging)
Social withdrawal and isolation
Wearing baggy clothing to hide their body, due to self-consciousness or to make weight loss less noticeable
Compromise of education and employment plans

Psychological signs

Anorexia is a mental illness, and you might notice changes in the way you or someone you know feels before physical symptoms become obvious. Psychological signs include:

Fear of fatness or pursuit of thinness
Excessive focus on body weight
Distorted perception of body shape or weight – for example, thinking they are much larger than they are
Underestimating or denying the seriousness of the problem, or believing there isn’t a problem at all, even after diagnosis
Spending a lot or most of their time thinking about food
Anxiety, particularly about eating in front of other people
Low confidence and self-esteem
Difficulty concentrating
Perfectionism and setting very high standards for themselves
Other mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Physical signs

Starvation affects all the body’s organs, including the brain and muscle tissue. People with anorexia nervosa often experience physical signs of starvation, which may include:

Weight loss
Irregular periods, or periods stopping altogether
Lack of sexual interest
Difficulty sleeping
Tiredness
Feeling dizzy
Stomach pains
Constipation
Bloating
Feeling cold or have a low body temperature
Growth of soft, fine hair all over your body (called lanugo)
Hair loss
Physical weakness
Loss of muscle strength
Effects on hormone levels
Swelling in their feet, hands or face (known as oedema)
Low blood pressure
Poor circulation

Long term effects of anorexia

Like any eating disorder, anorexia can have long-term physical effects, some of which may be permanent, including:

Loss of bone density (osteoporosis)
Erosion of tooth enamel
Difficulty conceiving, infertility
Heart problems
Damage to other organs, such as the kidneys, bowels and liver
Weakened immune system
Delayed onset of puberty or stunted growth in children and young teenagers

Most seriously, anorexia can be fatal if not treated in time. However, many physical effects of anorexia are reversible or can be prevented from worsening, and eating disorders are treatable, with full recovery possible.

Last reviewed: December 2020 Review date: December 2023 Version 2.0 Sources used to create this information are available by contacting Beat. We welcome your feedback on our information resources.

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Recovery... Everyone is always told “to choose recovery” but we are never told exactly how to achieve this or what this even really means.

When I was diagnosed with Anorexia, I was immediately expected to ‘just recover’, so being the perfectionist and ‘people pleaser’ that I am, I chose to fake my recovery.

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An eating disorder is not about an extremely low BMI or an emaciated figure, and even though this is how it ended up for me it makes me wonder, now I am on the road to recovery, if my road could have been different. I want to share what I've learnt with you.

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