The Difference Between Eating Disorders & Disordered Eating

During a recent meal out at one of my favorite restaurants, I noticed a mom dining with her two young kids. As they were finishing their meals, one little boy boldly announced, “I’m not hungry anymore. I’m done!” To which the mother blithely responded, “Okay, we’ll take the rest home.” This is a completely normal exchange, and shouldn’t have stuck so stubbornly in my brain, but it did. Why? Because the mother didn’t say, “You need to finish what’s on your plate,” and the kid seemed so sure of himself. He was hungry, he ate some food, and when he was full enough, he was done. Eating is so damn simple, and we’ve made it so complex.

There is a fine line between eating disorders and disordered eating, and our culture of fad diets and weight obsession can lead to both. An estimated 45 million Americans start a new diet each year, yet we remain unhealthy and engage in terrible relationships with food. A culture that promotes any diet as the secret to happiness/fulfillment/optimum health/love/worthiness/sexiness/spirituality is inherently flawed, yet we collectively choose to ignore these flaws. It doesn’t matter if you weigh 100, 200, or 300 pounds if you dislike yourself. Weight loss cannot change the deeper issues, and there’s almost always a deeper issue. The health halo surrounding diets can lead to disordered eating, which can in turn lead to…