'Hidden' Eating Disorders: Normal-Weight Teens May Also Be Dealing with Dangerous Behaviors

Excessive weight loss may not be the only sign of an eating disorder, particularly among teens and adolscents. A recent study shows that some normal-weight teens may also be struggling with dangerous behaviors related to food and body image.

"This paper highlights that it is not so much about the weight but the weight loss that can lead to a serious eating disorder," said lead study author Melissa Whitelaw, a clinical specialist dietitian at The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, via WebMD. "The complications of malnutrition can occur at any weight."

Though findings reveal that extreme weight loss is certainly a symptoms of a potential eating disorder, study results also show that the same medical problems can occur in patients of normal weight.

For the study, researchers examined 99 teenagers between the ages of 12-19. Researchers found that only about 8 percent of the patients had an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS-Wt) in 2005. However, by 2009, that number had jumped to 47 percent.

"We are conditioned to think that the key feature of anorexia nervosa is low body mass index [BMI]," said Cynthia Bulik, director of the Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, via Health Day. BMI measures whether a person is a healthy weight for their height. "In fact, we miss a lot of eating disorders when focusing primarily on weight."

The reasons for this increase remain relatively unclear. However, researchers believe that a greater understanding and awareness of eating disorders has helped bring related lesser-known issues into the light.