Risky Behaviors That Can Lead to Eating Disorders

It's not always clear whether certain behaviors lead to eating disorders or the eating disorders lead to the behaviors. But it is clear that some behaviors often show up in those with eating disorders.

The Most Risky Behavior: Dieting

Dieting is probably the strongest predictor of an eating disorder. A diet is a stepping stone to anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder, and other eating problems. Diets reinforce the sense that something is wrong with the body. And since they almost never work, they don't help with what seems to be wrong.

Eating disorders are natural ways to react to this always-increasing sense of futility.

Perfectionism and Eating Disorders

Perfectionistic behaviors are common among those with eating disorders. In families that demand a lot from their children, kids sometimes decide that being as close to perfect as possible is actually the easiest thing to do.

When perfectionism meets body image, the chance for an eating disorder increases a great deal. No human body is perfect, and most of us worry about it to some degree. Perfectionism creates a need to make the body perfect. And this never happens.

In some cases, perfectionism comes in the form of obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. Those with OCD may engage in behaviors that seem peculiar, such as chewing each bite forty times, or cutting food into a certain number of bites no matter how little food is on the plate. OCD makes an eating disorder more powerful, especially as the eating disorder begins to cause a person to lose weight or be able to maintain weight.

In almost all cases, perfectionistic behaviors indicate an underlying need to create order in what seems to be a chaotic world.

Drug Use and Abuse

For anyone who uses/abuses illegal drugs or abuses prescription drugs, the goal is to change the way the body and mind feel and get away from how they feel right now. Drugs can create the sense that perceptions can be changed quickly to something better.

Applying this mindset to body shape leads a person to believe that a quick change is possible, and even necessary.

Isolation Before and After Eating Disorders Begin

Having few friends and little social interaction will sometimes lower a person's sense of self. Low self-esteem can quickly lead to a search for ways to change the self or how others see the person. An eating disorder fills this "need." Unfortunately, the eating disorder then leads to more isolation because it takes up time and energy and becomes more important than the friends the person wanted in the first place.

Checking Your Behaviors: The Eating Attitudes Test

The EAT-26, or Eating Attitudes Test, helps to evaluate whether your current behavior might suggest an eating disorder. Taking the test is quick and easy, and it's a great first step toward healthy eating.