Signs Your Teen May Have an Eating Disorder: A Montgomery County, Maryland Parent’s Guide

By: Megan Samuels, MSW, LCSW-C, Eating Disorder & Trauma Therapist

Parenting a teenager comes with constant change, uncertainty, and worry. Appetite shifts, mood swings, and evolving interests are often part of normal adolescent development. However, eating disorders frequently begin during the teen years, and the early signs can be subtle, easy to miss, or mistaken for “just a phase.”

If you are a parent in Montgomery County, Maryland and have concerns about your teen’s relationship with food, weight, exercise, or body image, this guide is meant to help you better understand what to look for, and when to seek professional support. At The Eating Disorder Center, we work with teens and adults in Rockville, Maryland-also serving, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Gaithersburg, Olney, and virtually throughout Maryland.

Eating disorders do not have one single look. Teens of all body sizes, genders, backgrounds, and personalities can struggle. You do not need to wait until your child is considered medically underweight or in crisis to take action.


Common Signs Your Teen May Be Struggling With an Eating Disorder


1. Your teenager is eating significantly less than before

Have you noticed your teen skipping meals, eating very small portions, or frequently claiming they “aren’t hungry”? Restriction can look like avoiding breakfast, eating only a few bites at dinner, or consistently finding reasons not to eat with the family.

While appetite changes can happen for many reasons, a sustained reduction in food intake, especially when paired with anxiety or irritability around meals, can be an early warning sign of disordered eating or an eating disorder.


2. Your child has become increasingly rigid or selective with food

Does your teen suddenly refuse foods they used to enjoy? Have they cut out entire food groups such as carbohydrates, fats, or desserts? Are they only willing to eat a short list of “safe” foods?

This type of rigidity is often disguised as being “healthy,” “disciplined,” or “clean eating,” but extreme restriction or fear around certain foods can signal a deeper issue with control, anxiety, or body image.


3. Your teenager spends long periods in the bathroom after meals

If your teen routinely disappears into the bathroom after eating, especially following larger meals or snacks, this may be concerning. Purging behaviors can include self-induced vomiting, and teens may try to hide this by running water, showering, or lingering for extended periods.

Not every long bathroom visit means purging, but patterns matter. Trust your instincts if something doesn’t feel right.


4. Your child eats in secrecy or hides food

Finding food wrappers in bedrooms, backpacks, or trash cans outside the kitchen can be a sign that your teen feels shame or fear around eating. Some teens eat secretly because they feel out of control around food, while others hide food to compensate for restriction.

Secretive eating behaviors are commonly seen in binge eating disorder, bulimia, and restrictive eating disorders, and they often reflect emotional distress around food rather than a lack of willpower.


5. Your teenager frequently criticizes their body or appearance

Negative body talk is more than a confidence issue. If your teen regularly comments on hating their stomach, thighs, weight, or overall appearance, or expresses a strong desire to lose weight, this can signal body image distress.

Body dissatisfaction is one of the strongest risk factors for developing an eating disorder. Even “casual” comments about wanting to change their body deserve attention and compassion.


6. Laxatives or other compensatory behaviors are increasing

Some teens attempt to compensate for eating by misusing laxatives, diet pills, or other substances. If you notice laxatives disappearing more quickly than expected or being used without medical guidance, this can be a serious warning sign.

These behaviors are medically dangerous and often driven by fear of weight gain or a desire to control food intake.


7. Exercise has become excessive, rigid, or guilt-driven

Has your teen’s relationship with exercise changed? Do they feel compelled to work out every day, become distressed if they miss a session, or continue exercising despite illness, injury, or exhaustion?

Compulsive exercise is not about enjoyment or health, it’s often tied to anxiety, perfectionism, and control. When movement feels mandatory rather than flexible, it is frequently linked to disordered eating and body image struggles.


8. Your child is counting calories or obsessed with “healthy” eating

Tracking calories, weighing food, or labeling foods as “good,” “bad,” or “clean” can all be forms of restriction. Teens may become preoccupied with numbers, labels, or rules around eating while insisting they are “just being healthy.”

Diet culture often normalizes these behaviors, making them easy to overlook, but fixation on food rules can be a sign of an emerging eating disorder.


9. Eating out or social meals cause intense stress

Does your teen avoid restaurants, parties, or events involving food? Are they anxious about menus, calorie counts, or eating in front of others?

Social withdrawal around meals is common in eating disorders and can significantly impact a teen’s quality of life, friendships, and family relationships.


Why Early Intervention Matters

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions, but they are also highly treatable, especially when addressed early. Waiting for symptoms to become “severe enough” can make recovery more difficult and prolong suffering.

Working with an eating disorder specialist ensures that treatment addresses not only food behaviors, but also the underlying emotional, psychological, and relational factors contributing to the struggle.


Eating Disorder Therapy for Teens in Montgomery County, MD

If you’re concerned about your teen, you don’t have to navigate this alone. At The Eating Disorder Center, we provide compassionate, evidence-based eating disorder therapy for teens and adults in Rockville and throughout Montgomery County, including Bethesda, Silver Spring, Potomac, Germantown, and surrounding areas.

We specialize in treating:

• Anorexia
• Bulimia
• Binge eating disorder
• ARFID
• OSFED
• Disordered eating
• Body image distress

We also offer virtual eating disorder therapy across Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Florida, California, Pennsylvania, and recovery coaching worldwide.


Next Steps

If you’re wondering whether your teen’s relationship with food or body image is cause for concern, reaching out for guidance can provide clarity and relief. We offer a free 15-minute consultation to help parents understand options and next steps without pressure or obligation.

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or mental health advice. If you are concerned about your child’s immediate safety, please seek emergency care.

Schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation to explore how eating disorder therapy or recovery coaching can help you to find freedom.
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🌟 Available in MD, VA, DC, PA, FL, and CA for eating disorder therapy
🌍 Offering recovery coaching worldwide

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Megan Samuels, MSW, LCSW-C (she/her), is an eating disorder and trauma therapist at The Eating Disorder Center.  She offers therapy for teens and adults, focusing on the intersection of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, & ARFID, and trauma (including complex trauma and dissociative disorders). Megan uses a blend of relational therapy, EMDR therapy, ego state interventions, DBT, and ACT with clients.  She is passionate about providing compassionate and supportive care for folks struggling with an eating disorder and/or complex trauma.

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The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping children, teens, and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington, D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in Florida, Pennsylvania, and California. We provide eating disorder and EMDR trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland and Virginia. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com