Resources and guidelines for parents who have teens with eating disorders
If you have a teenager with an eating disorder, you’re probably desperate for resources and information to help you navigate this difficult situation. The good news is that we’ve got the resources you need to figure things out and start helping your teen recover from their eating disorder.
Teenagers develop eating disorders for many different reasons. Your teen may have experienced puberty and growth spurts that made them feel uncomfortable in their body. They may be experiencing high levels of stress at school or on sports teams. And, unfortunately, they may be exposed to harmful ideas and ways of thinking about bodies, weight, and eating from their peers and social media. Maybe your teen has always been anxious and perfectionistic, and lately all their attention is on their weight, exercise and eating.
Whatever your teenager’s symptoms are, we can help you understand them and start to take meaningful action to help them recover. Eating disorders don’t have to be a life sentence – people can and do recover.
Parent-Friendly ❤️ Neurobiology ❤️ Attachment ❤️ Non-Diet ❤️ Health At Every Size®
Eating disorders in teens
It is common for eating disorders to begin in adolescence due to a number of factors. Eating disorders are biopsychosocial disorders, meaning they combine biological, psychological, and social elements, many of which come to the forefront during the teen years.
Teens can develop eating disorders at any stage of adolescence. The symptoms can sometimes be hard to spot for months or even years. The different types of eating disorders in order of how common they are is: other specified feeding and eating disorders (OSFED), binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).
What are the warning signs for teens with eating disorders?
Many parents know to watch out for extreme weight loss, skipping meals, and increased exercise patterns. The challenge is that these behaviors are normalized, even glorified in our society. Due to the pressures of diet culture, many teens start out on a well-intentioned lifestyle change. However, it’s easy to slip from dieting into an eating disorder. That’s why parents should know that the No. 1 predictor of eating disorders is dieting. Teens who diet are up to 18x more likely to develop eating disorders than those who don’t.
Parents should watch their teens for warning signs of eating disorders including:
- Rapid/prolonged changes in weight
- New food rules, restrictions, and strange eating patterns
- Anxiety and stress surrounding eating, including refusing to eat with family members
- Increased exercise programs, including exercising late at night in their bedroom
- Changes in how interested they are in socializing and school activities
Disordered eating refers to irregular eating habits that do not necessarily meet the diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder. Nonetheless, they negatively impact an individual’s physical and/or mental health. Disordered eating can manifest in the form of restrictive or binge eating patterns, excessive preoccupation with food or body image. It is often linked to feelings of guilt or shame around eating. Disordered eating can be hard to spot due to diet culture.
Disordered eating is a key predictor of an eating disorder. It should be treated quickly and assertively in much the same way as an eating disorder. There is no benefit to waiting, as most disordered eating patterns get worse, not better in time.
How many teens develop eating disorders?
Eating disorders are surprisingly common. Up to 10% of people will develop an eating disorder in their lifetime, and the majority of eating disorders begin in adolescence. Many teens who develop eating disorders also have other mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, autism, ADHD, and more. Eating disorders in teens more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eating disorders tend to be long-lasting unless the person receives comprehensive treatment, so early and assertive treatment is essential.
Recent studies have estimated that 22% of teens struggle with disordered eating behaviors, such as intentional vomiting, caloric restriction, binge eating, overexercise, the use of weight loss supplements and misuse of laxatives.. Disordered eating and eating disorders are particularly common among girls. Behaviors tended to increase with age and among those with a higher body mass index.
What are the risks of teens having eating disorders?
Eating disorders are are currently a public health concern in most mid- and high-income countries because their prevalence in teens has markedly increased over the past 50 years. Furthermore, eating disorders are among the most life-threatening of all mental health conditions and are associated with significant, lifelong medical complications.
Major health complications include electrolyte abnormalities and low heart rate. These may require hospitalization and ongoing monitoring. In addition to a medical crisis, teens with eating disorders are also at risk of malnutrition that can impact their growth and development. Puberty can be paused and growth stalled. These conditions can affect height, bone health, weight, metabolic rate, and more. Many of these health risks can have lifelong impacts, which is why getting treatment for teens who have eating disorders is vitally important.
What are the treatments for teens with eating disorders?
Many times the most effective treatment for teens with eating disorders is done at home by parents with the help of trained professionals.
Treatment for teens with eating disorders varies based on numerous factors. These include the teens’ medical status, degree of disordered behavior, access to care, and insurance coverage. While most people assume that teens with eating disorders require hospitalization and residential treatment, the majority of teens can be and are most effectively treated at home.
However, the lack of hospitalization and residential treatment should not be an indication that the teen is not in need of assertive care. Eating disorders don’t typically resolve on their own, they tend to get worse, and every month of having an eating disorder makes it more likely that it will continue indefinitely. Early, assertive treatment is essential to full recovery of eating disorders. The first step is to contact your child’s doctor or find a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian (CED-RD). They can help you establish a plan and evaluate your options.
Parents are essential to at-home care for teens who have eating disorders. In many cases they can work closely with medical providers, registered dietitians (RDs) and therapists to set up a feeding and care structure that makes sense for them.
How to parent a teenager with an eating disorder
Parenting a teenager who has an eating disorder is not easy. Eating disorders are complex illnesses that must be treated comprehensively. Since most eating disorders begin during the teen years, parents are on the front lines of treatment and care. But few feel prepared to handle it. Eating disorders are biopsychosocial disorders, meaning they combine biology, psychology, and social factors. Here are three key things about parenting a teenager with an eating disorder you should know:
- There’s a lot of pressure on teenagers that exacerbates the risk of eating disorders
- Teens have been taught that eating disorder behaviors are healthy (even though they aren’t)
- Mental healthcare for teens is really hard to get
⭐ Tip: Help your teenager feel safe and secure at home. This will reduce their stress and anxiety, which contributes to eating disorders. Keep in mind that when your teenager says “life sucks,” it may be true. It doesn’t mean you have failed as a parent, it just means the world is tough on teenagers. Yours likely needs love and support as they navigate this crazy world.
Striving for peer validation can worsen people’s body image by linking popularity to appearance.
Understanding the influence of media on teen body image
This article is from Alejandra Sandomirskiy, a high school sophomore who addresses how peers, cultural messages, and the media impact a person’s body image. How do you think people should handle the impact of peers, cultural messages, and the media?
An eating disorder? No, not my teen!
For two years, I lived in a fog of guilt after my child was diagnosed with an eating disorder by a specialist and then hospitalized. I constantly questioned myself, wondering how in the world my child could have this problem: No, not my child. I know her better than anyone else on the earth. She’s complex, but no way could she have a mental disorder!
Eating disorder treatment programs for teens
There are a few common challenges that adolescents may face when they enter residential treatment. Being away from the familiarity of home and their friends and families can certainly be difficult, especially since many of them have never spent any significant amount of time away from home.
< More About Parenting With Eating Disorders
free cheat sheet: Parenting A Child With An Eating Disorder
⭐ Get ready for recovery and find out how you can prepare yourself for maximum success.
⭐ Find out the essential steps and family rules you need to have in place for recovery.
⭐ Make your home recovery-ready with six simple steps that anyone can do.
More Resources for Parents Who Teens With Eating Disorders
How to handle mood swings in eating disorder recovery
Melanie feels worn out. Her teenage daughter Kimmy has an eating disorder, but that’s not even the biggest challenge right now. “What we’re really struggling with,” says Melanie, “are the endless mood swings. She’s up and down constantly, either yelling at me and getting in…
Help your teen with an eating disorder get enough sleep
If you have a teen who has an eating disorder, then you probably know that getting enough sleep is a key component of their care. But it can be hard to get any teenager to get enough sleep. And when you add on the disruption created…
Parenting a teenager with an eating disorder
Parenting a teenager who has an eating disorder is not easy. Eating disorders are complex illnesses that must be treated comprehensively. Since most eating disorders begin during adolescence, parents are on the front lines of treatment and care. But few feel prepared to handle it.…
Influence of Culture & Media on Teen Body Image
By Alejandra Sandomirskiy, high school sophomore How do peers, cultural messages, and the media impact a person’s body image? How do you think people should handle the impact of peers, cultural messages, and the media? As I scroll on social media, I often come across…
A mom’s story: An eating disorder? No, not my child!
Following is an excerpt from the book By Their Side: A Resource for Caretakers and Loved Ones Facing an Eating Disorder. The book is filled with personal anecdotes and helpful advice for parents who are facing a child’s eating disorder diagnosis and recovery. An eating…
A mother’s perspective: insights and experience gained in supporting my daughter in her recovery
Eating disorders are not well understood, isolating, frustrating, and painful. And that goes for the person who has it as well as the people who love and support that person. When a child develops an eating disorder, parents can easily become overwhelmed by treatment, fear,…
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Parent Scripts For Eating Disorder Recovery
Use these scripts:
- At the dinner table when behavior is getting out of control
- When you need to set boundaries – fast!
- After something happened so you can calmly review the triggers and events