Figuring out if you have an eating disorder, and if so, which eating disorder it is, is not always as easy as it may sound. It gets even more complicated when it’s not you have the problem. I often have parents contact me unsure of whether or not their child has an eating disorder. Or I have significant others who know that their mate is struggling with eating issues but who get stonewalled when they try to help. Finally, I even get individuals suffering from the symptoms of an eating disorder themselves who are confused about what is happening to them. 

Eating disorders are complicated and although they do not affect everyone in exactly the same way, there are some distinct differences between the primary types of eating disorders. 

In the diagram below, I have tried to break this down for the most common types of eating disorders in terms of the salient physical, behavioral, medical and psychological variables. 

For this diagram, I have not included ARFID (avoidant, restrictive, food intake disorder) or obesity. 

Click the following for more information about anorexia, bulimia, bulimarexia, and binge eating disorder. To schedule, an appointment with Dr. Norton click here or call (513) 205-6543.