Should I be concerned?

[little-gurl]

Hi. I am not ana, mia, or have any other ed. I'm here to get someone who has an ed's opinion. I figured this would be a better resource than a website off of Google since people on this site actually have ed's themselves.

Truthfully, I'm just concerned about my sister.
Lately I've noticed that she's cutting her food into pieces before she takes one bite and she takes a long time to eat her food. I've also noticed that she doesn't always eat everything. Certain foods she'll eat, but others (especially meat) she hardly eats any of it. She is pretty skinny (size 0) but she's only 14 and plays soccer at a high-level year round. When I was the same age as her I was also really skinny (I varied between sizes 0 and 00) but I ate like a pig (I played soccer, field hockey and did swimming, so I burned off pretty much everything I ate).

I'm just wondering if I should be concerned about my sister's eating habits. Should I just keep an eye on her? Should I tell my parents what I've been noticing? I just really need someone's opinion and advice.

[blah]

i would definitely keep an eye on her. these could definitely be signs of an eating disorder, how ever it's a possibility she is just a picky eater. I think it might be a good idea to talk to her, you might be able to help. especially if she is in the early stages.

[Special P]

talk to her definately, because if she is getting an ED, once she's in too far it's really hard to help her see what's real and what's not
don't try forcing her to eat right off the bat though, that could just anger her and push her away from you. Make her feel safe around you.

Has she also been withdrawing from social activities?

[katiescarlett]

Hmm I would definitely look out for other signs, but what you've got isn't at all conclusive.

Cutting food up small, fiddling with it, etc, is a classic anorexic way of avoiding eating it.

But taking your time to eat, rather than gobbling like lots of people do these days, is actually quite good for you.

And there's nothing wrong with not eating everything on your plate, if you aren't hungry. I would guess that some of the bulimics on this board, like me, have the opposite problem and feel compelled to eat all the food in front of us, even if we're full. Which is bad, obviously.

Also, quite a few young teenagers go off meat, for moralistic kind of reasons.

So I wouldn't jump to conclusions. If your sister seems happy, has plenty of energy, and isn't losing weight, she is probably OK.

But if she seems neurotic about food, or is exercising obsessively, or is getting even thinner, it's best to intervene (gently) sooner rather than later. And she will probably react better if it came from you than from a teacher or parent.

[little-gurl]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

She is a bit of a picky eater, but lately she's just gotten really picky - to a point where my parents and I just stare at her, questioning why she won't eat a certain food that she supposedly liked before.

Are there any other signs that I should look for if she really is developing an ed?

[Special P]

This is more for anorexic....

if she once loved something and has now cut it out of her diet, and refused to eat it...says she doesn't like it
she's looking a food labels, comparing, only wanting low-cal/low-fat items
spending lots of time in the mirror
weighs herself constantly (sometime more than once a day)
withdrawing herself from social activites
constantly cold
hairloss
started exercising or increased exercise
calling herself "fat" "worthless" (ie. low self-esteem)
skipping meals claiming to not be hungry or feeling "sick"
actually talking about losing weight


hope that helps