Eating Disorder Awareness Week: Early Signs, Prevention, and Support
Learn how to recognize disordered eating, support prevention, and build a healthier relationship with food and body.
Imagine a teen skipping breakfast because they feel guilty for “eating too much” the night before.
Or an adult avoiding social events because they fear they’ll lose control around food.
Or someone shaming themselves - or a family member - because they have no willpower to “stop eating those chips.”
All of these are samples and signs of eating disorders or disordered eating.
These experiences are more common than many people realize, and they often begin long before a formal diagnosis. Research shows that disordered eating behaviors often begin in adolescence and can persist for years without intervention.
February 23 – March 1, 2026, marks National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW). This year’s theme, “Every BODY Belongs,” is a powerful reminder that eating disorders and disordered eating can affect people of all ages, body sizes, genders, and backgrounds.
As an Eating Disorder Dietitian, I help clients understand that eating disorder awareness is not just about recognizing severe cases. It’s about noticing early signs and supporting prevention before patterns become more entrenched.
What Are Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating?
Eating disorders are serious mental and medical conditions that affect a person’s relationship with food, body, and health. Common diagnoses include:
Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Binge Eating Disorder
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED)
Disordered eating, on the other hand, refers to patterns of behavior and thinking around food and body that may not meet full diagnostic criteria but still cause distress and impact physical and emotional well-being.
This can include restrictive eating, binge eating, compulsive exercise, intense guilt after eating, rigid food rules, or chronic preoccupation with weight and appearance.
Disordered eating exists on a spectrum.
You do not have to meet every criterion for an eating disorder to deserve support. In fact, early recognition is one of the most important steps in eating disorder prevention.
Early Signs of Disordered Eating
Eating disorders do not have a certain “look.” Many symptoms are subtle and may be mistaken for “healthy habits” or discipline.
Behavioral signs may include:
Increasing rigidity around when, how, or what someone feels able to eat
Frequently skipping meals or avoiding eating with others
Cycles of feeling out of control around food followed by guilt, shame or attempts to “undo” eating
Avoiding certain foods due to fear of choking, vomiting, or other negative physical sensations
Heightened focus on tracking, controlling, or compensating for food
Cognitive and emotional signs may include:
Persistent mental preoccupation with food, calories, weight, or dieting
Intense distress about body size, shape or appearance
Repeated checking or monitoring of the body for perceived flaws
Strong emotional reactions connected to eating
Difficulty focusing or concentrating due to food- or body-related thoughts
Physical signs may include:
Noticeable weight changes or growth patterns over time
Fatigue, dizziness, or low energy
Gastrointestinal discomfort
Feeling cold frequently, even in warm environments
Changes in menstrual cycles
Someone may experience only a few of these patterns and still benefit from support. Waiting for things to become extreme can delay recovery and make patterns harder to shift.
In practice, many clients report noticing these signs long before seeking support. They delayed because they were unsure whether their concerns were “serious enough.”
Addressing them earlier significantly improves outcomes, and you increase the chances of preventing the extreme situations that become much harder to move into recovery.
Eating Disorder Prevention Starts with Awareness
Eating disorder prevention is not about doing everything perfectly. It’s about noticing patterns early and creating flexibility, nourishment, and support before rigidity deepens.
Here are 5 ways to work towards preventing eating disorders in yourself or someone you know:
Move Away from Rigid Food Rules
Many people believe they do not have food rules, until we start talking. Statements like “I can’t eat after 8 pm,” “Carbs are bad,” or “I need to earn my food” often feel normal because diet culture reinforces them.
Over time, rigid rules can increase anxiety, disrupt hunger and fullness cues, and contribute to cycles of restriction and overeating. Gently questioning one rule at a time can be a powerful step toward flexibility.
Shift the Focus Away from Weight
Weight-focused approaches often increase body dissatisfaction and risk for disordered eating. Health is not dependent on body size alone. I discuss this topic more in my blog about why I take a non-diet approach. Health is not dependent on weight. In visits, we often reframe the conversation toward behaviors, nourishment, growth, energy, and overall well-being. This does not erase the desire to look a certain way, but it creates space for a more sustainable relationship with food and body.
Support Consistent, Pressure-Free Eating
Regular meals and snacks help stabilize energy and reduce food preoccupation. For caregivers, offering predictable eating opportunities without praise, criticism, or pressure can be protective.
Avoid criticizing yourself or your kids when it comes to what they are putting in their mouths. Most people don’t realize that the messages of “You have to eat everything on your plate,” or “You shouldn’t eat that because… “it isn’t healthy,” or “it isn’t part of my diet” are fueling unnecessary rigid rules.
We’ve all done this, but we now realize the effect those words have had on our relationships with food.
When food is not feared, it does not become that treasured and sought-after item that has such power over our thoughts, emotions and actions.
Notice the Diet Culture Messages
Diet culture is everywhere and often disguised as health advice. Noticing messages that promote fear of food, rigid rules, or moral value around eating can be an important step toward protecting mental and physical well-being.
Talking about these messages openly with your family and children is the best way to understand how they are feeling or thinking about them, and can often open up conversations.
Seek Support Early
Many people are unsure whether what they are experiencing “counts” as disordered eating. If food feels stressful, exhausting, or overwhelming, that is reason enough to talk with a provider who understands eating disorders and diet culture.
Early support and working with an eating disorder dietitian can prevent patterns from becoming more severe and help rebuild trust with food and body over time.
Eating Disorder Support in Massachusetts and Beyond
If you or your child are struggling with disordered eating, body image concerns, or an eating disorder, support is available.
At EveryBody Nutrition Counseling, weight-inclusive, non-diet nutrition counseling is provided for children, teens, and adults. Care focuses on breaking the diet cycle, reducing guilt and shame around food, and building a more peaceful relationship with eating and body image.
Virtual sessions are available, with licensure in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Texas, Oregon, and Montana. We accept many major insurances for our nutrition counseling services including: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, Aetna, Harvard Pilgrim, United Healthcare, Cigna, WellSense.
There is no need to wait until symptoms feel severe. Early intervention can make a meaningful difference.
Noticing some of these signs in yourself or your child? Schedule a free discovery call with Katie to talk through what you’re seeing, clarify whether these patterns point to disordered eating, and discuss early, weight-inclusive support options.
Every BODY deserves a peaceful relationship with food.
