There are different kinds of eating disorders, but there are three basic ones which are discussed as follows:

1. ANOREXIA NERVOSA
Anorexia is basically a deliberate and sustained effort to lose weight by eating lesser and lesser or virtually starving oneself. Those affected by anorexia suffer even when they are thin, they consider themselves fat and the thinner they get; the fatter they feel thereby propelling themselves to get even thinner. Anorexics are constantly preoccupied with body weight and shape and apart from severe dieting; they indulge in obsessive over exercising to burn calories. Anorexics are usually perfectionists and control freaks who set severe targets for themselves and fear losing control. In their psyche, eating even a little amount of food amounts to losing control, which is unacceptable.
Anorexia nervosa causes very serious and life threatening complications. Lack of proper nutrition severely damages organs, including the heart and brain. It causes shrinking of muscles, osteoporosis, brittle bones, dehydration and anemia, hair loss, infertility et cetera. Anorexics are a disturbed lot whose every aspect of life and they are prone to mood swings, depressions, compulsive obsessive behaviors and other problems like difficulty in concentrating, knowledge retention and memory recall.

2. BULIMIA NERVOSA
Bulimia is a binge eating spree immediately followed by purging, that is, self induced vomiting or using laxatives to prevent the food consumed from getting digested and the calories absorbed by the body. Bulimics usually binge uncontrollably and are driven by a sudden impulse to attain immediate food comfort. They eat quickly and in large quantities only to feel extremely guilty and ashamed. Thus, they resort to quick compensatory behaviors like vomiting, crash dieting or excessive exercising.

Bulimics suffer from problems like tooth and gum decay, constipation and side effects of using diuretics, laxatives and other stimulants. Most bulimics suffer from other destructive behaviors like stealing etc.

3. BINGE EATING
These eaters suffer from having no control over eating. They eat constantly and in unmeasured amounts, even when they are uncomfortably full. Bingeing provides great comfort and a temporary emotional fulfillment but once the episode is over, binge eaters feel incredibly guilty, depressed and ashamed. In children bingeing is quite difficult to identify as growing children can have genuine hunger pangs or require large quantities of nourishment. If  your child is eating his food too quickly, eating at odd hours, eating a lot and skipping meals afterwards or eating because of some stress trigger like exam fear, emotional disturbance, pay attention.

Binge eaters usually suffer from obesity, heart ailments like high blood and cholesterol levels, high blood sugar levels and gall bladder inflammation amongst a host of other problems like low self esteem, tendency to get into depressions et cetera.

DEALING WITH EATING DISORDER
It is very important to understand how deep-rooted these psychological addictions are as a person suffering from a disorder is in denial of the problem and does not want to get cured. Eating disorders are psychological illnesses that are very difficult to cure but do
1. Pay a close attention to your child’s eating habits.

2. Try and have as many meals together as you can so that you can monitor the diet.

3. Talk about issues like dieting and nutrition. Talk to your children about the demerits of dieting or excessive eating.

4. Observe other aspects of life and try and identify the anxieties and concerns your child might be going through.