Disordered eating is a disturbed and unhealthy eating pattern that can include restrictive dieting, compulsive eating or skipping meals.

Disordered eating can mean anything from chaotic eating to simply not taking care of your eating habits. An example of this could be someone who doesn’t prioritise food, or often skips meals because they may be feeling depressed, anxious, or stressed. Unhealthy food habits are often a by-product of someone not looking after their wellbeing. 

What are some signs/symptoms of disordered eating? 

  • Skipping meals
  • Cutting out food groups
  • Irregular eating patterns
  • Fasting and bingeing 
  • Anxiety about specific foods
  • Desire to burn off calories
  • Lowered body temperature
  • Social and emotional withdrawal 
  • Difficulty concentrating 

5 ways a teacher can support a student who is struggling with disordered eating?

If you’re concerned about a student, it’s important to consider the best person to approach the student of concern, and then choose an appropriate time and place to have a gentle talk with the student regarding your concerns. 

  1. Try to approach the student in a calm way and avoid any direct questioning or comments about eating behaviours  e.g. have you lost weight. 
  2. Be prepared for high levels of guilt, and shame around their eating behaviour 
  3. Express your concerns with ‘I’ statements e.g. “I notice you’ve been rather distant in group lately, could you tell me about that?” Or “It seems like you are having a really hard time at the moment, am I on the right track?” 
  4. Listen and allow them plenty of time to express their feelings.

How to promote a whole school approach to body image?

Promoting a whole-school approach to body image involves fostering a positive environment that supports students’ mental health and well-being.

Some strategies schools can implement may include:

  • Lesson Plans: Create and implement lesson plans that explore body image in depth. These can help students understand what body image is, what factors affect it, and how it impacts mental health and well-being.
  • Assemblies: Conduct assemblies with PowerPoint slides and posters to raise awareness about body image and mental health throughout the entire school community.
  • Physical Environment: Create an environment that promotes body positivity. Consider inclusive posters, diverse representations, and messages that celebrate different body types.

Most importantly try to communicate to students about appreciating what their bodies can do for them on a daily basis and emphasizing self-love. This is essential for promoting a healthy body image. 

How to approach a student of concern?

Set a private time and place to talk to the student, and approach them in a calming way, avoiding direct questions or comments about eating issues or behaviour e.g. ‘have you lost weight ?’   Be prepared for high levels of anxiety, guilt and shame around their eating behaviour. Express your concerns with ‘I’ statements e.g. “I notice you’ve been rather distant in group lately, could you tell me about that?” Or “It seems like you are having a really hard time at the moment, am I on the right track?” 

Listen and allow them plenty of time to express their feelings and remember this is a first step and you may experience resistance. Remember to encourage the student to seek further support, and help rather than convincing them they have a problem.

When to make a referral?

Follow your schools’ guidelines about referring a student you’re concerned about to the wellbeing/support team. Where possible maintain the student’s continentality. If a student is experiencing depression, high anxiety, or extreme weight loss, speak to someone who’s got the professionalism within the area, on how to address the situation.

If a student is presenting with any signs of disordered eating bullet point what you notice with the symptoms, and ensure to keep an eye on the student. 

Workshops for Teachers

Jenny Tomei is a nutritional therapist and eating disorder coach. Having recovered from anorexia herself, Jenny is passionate about educating and empowering those who are at risk of developing an eating disorder. Jenny’s approach combines education, group work and peer support to create a more holistic and well rounded strategy to support those with eating disorders.

Jenny founded JenUp, an organisation that offers workshops to schools to help teachers understand the signs of the many different eating disorders and empower them to better support their students.

Some themes covered in her workshops include:

  • How to support students in recovery from an eating disorder
  • Explore what to say and what not to say to a student in recovery from an eating disorder
  • Exploring different strategies to ensure the student doesn’t fall behind in their studies
  • How to support students who need to be monitored during lunch hours

For more information contact Jenny on her website JenUp.