How can you tell if someone is anorexic or just naturally thin?

Answer 1

Well look at some pics of anorexics and you will notice that you can see every bone in their body, they will be tired alot.
People that are just thin will have some meat on their bones and seem healthy.

Answer 2

You can't know 100% just by looking at someone if they are suffering from anorexia. You can have a pretty good idea, but there are other illnesses which cause a person to become emaciated, such as cancer.

The other important thing to remember, is that not everyone struggling with anorexia looks like a concentration camp victim. Someone who is 5'6" and 110 lbs may pass as "just a very naturally thin woman" when in reality, she may be starving herself to attain this thinness. She may be anorexic....you just can't tell what someone's relationship is to food and body by looking at them (again, you may have a guess, but that's it).

SO, to have a better idea if someone is struggling with an eating disorder, you need to look at their BEHAVIORS. Good questions to think about are is she eating when hungry and stopping when full? Or is she restricting her caloric intake to maintain a lower weight? Is she preoccupied with food, body, exercize, etc? How does she feel about her body?

Here are 2 links for ED info and treatment resources (therapists, nutritionists, inpatient facilities, etc.):
http://www.something-fishy.org/treatmentfinder/
http://www.edreferral.com

Good luck!

Answer 3

Anorexic simply means a loss of appetite it does not necessarily indicate any psychological problem. Anorexia can be a side effect of medication or a symptom of anxiety or depression. However, Anorexia Nervosa is a Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Such individuals do not see themselves as the rest of the world does. It is truly an image distortion much like a fun house mirror, though not very fun.

The difference between naturally thin people and sufferers of Anorexia Nervosa is that anorexics are severely preoccupied with their weight. Most get to the point where it is very hard to engage in normal conversations and have healthy relationships without obsessively thinking about weight or self-degrading thoughts about their body.

To mask their internal chaos, anorexics may wear oversized clothing or stand in front of the mirror for hours assessing their figure before they go out. Anorexics may make excuses to miss meals. And when they are present physically, they are often in another world mentally.

Anorexics may play with their food, push it around on their plate, hide it in a napkin or feed it to the dog under the table. Some have difficulty with food touching their lips—they will cut the food into tiny pieces and open their mouth very wide with each small bite. Meal times are stressful for them, but for the naturally thin person; meals are a blasé affair.

Some anorexics may adopt obsessive compulsive behaviors towards food. They may collect recipes or Bon Appetite magazines. Many are fabulous cooks and will prepare meals for friends and family members only to vicariously eat through them. And then there are others who will spend hours at the supermarket just to purchase a few basic items. Every individual is different, but they all share a passionate obsession with food.

The key identifying elements are distorted body image and a preoccupation with weight. If these are not present, Anorexia Nervosa is not the correct diagnosis. Many people lose significant weight when they are depressed or under stress. Even if the person is skin and bones, they do not have Anorexia Nervosa if they see themselves as skin and bones and if their thoughts are consumed with their recent job loss or death of a loved one (example).

Answer 4

Not all anorexics binge! Bingeing and purging is a separate disorder called bulimia.

You can't tell if someone is anorexic just by looking at them. Even if they are emaciated and you can "see all their ribs", how do you know they're not going through chemo or suffering from some other illness?

Also, not all anorexics "pick at" their food. It's individual, some do and some don't.

Answer 5

The first way to tell is to check out her ankle. If her ankle is fairly thin, she's naturally thin. If it's a little thick, she could be unnaturally thin. That being said, there's more causes to being thin than just anorexia. She could have a disease, fighting an illness, etc. I wouldn't jump to conclusions. A friend of mine has cystic fibroris. She's painfully thin because of it. Does she have an eating disorder? Nope, but she does look like she does.

Answer 6

Until that person starts to look completely emaciated and generally unhealthy, you can't know unless you can observe their daily habits very closely. They may be just thin, have an eating disorder, or may be ill with some other type of condition that causes weight loss. There are many.

Answer 7

An anorexic is so thin you can see their ribs. The look very unhealthy, pick at their food and often binge. A good example was Karen Carpenter and she died from it. It's a nasty disorder.

Answer 8

The easiest way is to compare pictures of people who are anorexic with those whom you suspect of being anorexic. After you have seen a few pictures such as those hollywood people, it becomes very obvious what it looks like.
Mr. M on "anorexic."

Answer 9

someone may have a disorder called anorexia nervosa which is defined as 'self starvation' they have a psyc problem. the person thinks they are fat or "distorted" in a mirror.anorexia in general can be defined simply not having the urge to eat, not being hungry.

Answer 10

if they are losing a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Plus they aren't excerising or eating.