For those who struggle with an eating disorder, many daily activities and routines can be difficult, no matter where a person is on the recovery journey. When an eating disorder intersects with a chronic illness, these difficulties can be intensified. This article will help you understand the signs and symptoms of an eating disorder, as well as the complications that may arise when an eating disorder intersects with a chronic illness.

What Is an Eating Disorder?

An eating disorder is a mental health condition wherein a person experiences persistent and intense changes in eating behaviors and relationship with food. These behaviors are commonly found with negative emotions and harmful thoughts. Eating disorders include conditions like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, OSFED, and ARFID. They often co-occur with other mental health diagnoses such as anxiety and depression, which can add to the challenges and complexity of eating disorders.

Anyone can have an eating disorder regardless of gender, age, race, or demographic background. Eating disorders symptoms can vary greatly but their impacts to one’s health can be serious, so it is important to recognize the signs and symptoms. Remember, with access to care and support, eating disorder recovery is possible. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for help.

Chronic Illnesses and Eating Disorders

A chronic illness is a health condition that lasts for a long duration, usually years or throughout a lifetime. Chronic conditions often require ongoing or intensive health care and may limit and disrupt usual day-to-day activities. Conditions such as diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and asthma are all considered chronic illnesses. Mental health conditions like bipolar disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are also chronic illnesses. A chronic illness can take many forms, but a commonality among them all is that they require consistent care and monitoring and often special attention to one’s body.

Intense attention to a person’s health, body, and body functions by both the affected individual as well as healthcare providers can be a risk factor for developing an eating disorder. Studies have found that youth with chronic illnesses have an elevated risk of developing an eating disorder when compared to young people without chronic illnesses. Once an eating disorder develops, those with chronic illnesses may face more harmful health outcomes from their eating disorders. It is clear that the intersection of eating disorders and chronic illnesses complicates and exacerbates the challenges of both types of conditions. 

Body Image and Chronic Health Conditions

Chronic health conditions can wreak havoc on body image and self esteem. For adolescents and adults with chronic illness, feelings of disappointment, frustration, shame, and resentment toward one’s body and body functions are common. Those with chronic illnesses may have bodies that appear different from others or require medical devices for daily activities. These differences can lead to harmful body comparisons. Reduced self esteem and negative body image are often starting places for developing disordered eating behaviors that can eventually evolve into an eating disorder. 

Diet and Chronic Illness Management

Sometimes the management of a chronic disease requires increased attention on food, diet, and eating habits. For people with diabetes, celiac disease, or inflammatory bowel disease, disease management may require nutrient tracking or elimination of particular food types. These habits, though they may be important for disease management, can serve as triggers for eating disorders. If someone with a chronic illness develops an eating disorder, and a factor of their illness management is diet-related, this can greatly complicate their eating disorder treatment and recovery. Furthermore, reliance on supplements to help manage a chronic illness can be misused in ways that exacerbate the effects of an eating disorder. Because of these complexities, it is important to seek professional medical care if an eating disorder develops alongside a chronic illness. 

Mental Health Impacts

Those who struggle with chronic illnesses are often at a much higher risk for depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. Harmful thoughts and negative emotions often accompany the ongoing challenges of living with a chronic illness. Concurrently, mental health problems like anxiety and depression, as well as trauma and stress, can contribute to the development of an eating disorder or disordered eating. For this reason, mental disorders, chronic conditions, and eating disorders can interact in challenging ways that can greatly impact one’s quality of life. 

Chronic Illness and Eating Disorder Recovery 

It is clear that challenges can arise when chronic illnesses and eating disorders intersect. It is important to seek specialized care and support if you’re experiencing the symptoms of an eating disorder, especially if you also have a chronic illness. A care team may consist of eating disorder therapists, dietitians, and psychiatrists, as well as the doctors who specialize in your particular chronic illness. Because each condition can affect the other, it’s also important that the clinicians managing your chronic condition communicate with those assisting you in eating disorder recovery.

Seek Help

If you or a loved one is experiencing an eating disorder, you are not alone. Recovery is possible and help is available with the National Alliance for Eating Disorders.