Questions to Start a Discussion About Eating With Teens

Feelings

• When your teen feels depressed or stressed, he might react by changing his eating habits drastically. Not eating enough to sustain him is considered anorexia; eating too much and purging through vomiting or laxatives is bulimia; while eating much more than he should is referred to as binge eating. According to WebMD, these eating disorders are more common in females, with males making up an estimated 5 to 15 percent of anorexia and bulimia sufferers. This increases with binge eating, with males comprising 35 percent of sufferers. Asking your teen, "How does eating make you feel?" and "How do you feel when you think about food?" can help open a discussion about what's going on with your teen's eating habits. Answers that reflect he thinks about food all day -- whether it's ways to eat it or ways to avoid it -- or that food helps improve his mood can be red flags that he's a candidate for an eating disorder.

Body Image

• Asking your teen, "What do you think about your body?" and "What do you like and not like about your body?" can help her open up about body image issues. The media often promote perfect bodies, which are unattainable for most people. When your teen becomes obsessed with improving her body image, she can develop eating disorders. Talk with her about the dangers of unhealthy eating habits, including organ damage, bone weakening, tooth erosion, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. MayoClinic.com recommends talking with your teen about the messages she gets from the media about body image and how healthy body shapes are different for everyone.

Acceptance

• When your teen's eating habits change suddenly and drastically, he might be suffering from low self-esteem. He might tie his body into self-confidence; with the right body shape, he can make more friends or be more popular, for example. Ask him, "Do you feel accepted by your classmates and family?" If he doesn't, find ways to build his self-esteem. Spend time together listing his accomplishments and positive character traits, and remind him of the important people in his life that love him for exactly who he is.

Control

• If your teen answers "Yes" to the question, "Do you feel out of control when it comes to food?" discuss the reasons behind her feelings. Many teens feel like they can control what they eat whenever they feel out of control in other ways, such as a breakup with a boyfriend or a poor test score. Some might control food intake by limiting it severely, while others eat almost continuously. While a teen might initially feel in control, the eating disorder becomes an obsession that takes control of her instead. The new feeling of being out of control can exacerbate the problem; what once brought comfort and a feeling of security now becomes all she can think about. Talk to her about healthy eating habits, and don't use food as a reward or pick-me-up -- no ice cream when she doesn't make the cheer squad anymore, for example.