Grades 9 to 12 • Health Problems Series

Eating Disorders
KidsHealth.org/classroom These activities will help your students understand the psychological and physical
aspects of eating disorders, as well as the roles that friends, family, school, and
the media may play.
Teacher’s Guide
This guide includes:
Related KidsHealth Links
• Standards Articles for Teens:
• Related Links Eating Disorders
TeensHealth.org/en/teens/eat-disorder.html
• Discussion Questions
• Activities for Students Binge Eating Disorder
TeensHealth.org/en/teens/binge-eating.html
• Reproducible Materials
Emotional Eating
TeensHealth.org/en/teens/emotional-eating.html

Compulsive Exercise
Standards TeensHealth.org/en/teens/compulsive-exercise.html
This guide correlates with the Female Athlete Triad
following National Health TeensHealth.org/en/teens/triad.html
Education Standards:
I Think My Friend May Have and Eating Disorder. What Should I Do?
Students will: TeensHealth.org/en/teens/friend-eating-disorder.html
• Comprehend concepts related
Body Image and Self-Esteem
to health promotion and
disease prevention to enhance
TeensHealth.org/en/teens/body-image.html
health.
A Guy's Guide to Body Image
• Analyze the influence of TeensHealth.org/en/teens/male-bodyimage.html
family, peers, culture, media,
technology, and other factors
on health behaviors.
• Demonstrate the ability to Resources for Teachers:
access valid information and
products and services to Anorexia Special Needs Factsheet
enhance health. KidsHealth.org/en/parents/anorexia-factsheet.html
• Demonstrate the ability to use
interpersonal communication
Bulimia Special Needs Factsheet
skills to enhance health and KidsHealth.org/en/parents/bulimia-factsheet.html
avoid or reduce health risks.
Binge Eating Disorder Special Needs Factsheet
• Demonstrate the ability to
use decision-making skills to KidsHealth.org/en/parents/binge-factsheet.html
enhance health.
• Demonstrate the ability to
practice health-enhancing
behaviors and avoid or reduce
Discussion Questions
health risks.
• Demonstrate the ability to Note: The following questions are written in language appropriate for sharing with
advocate for personal, family, your students.
and community health.
1. Why do some people develop eating disorders? How do people with eating
disorders feel about their bodies? Does the person they see in the mirror always
match reality?
2. What are some signs that a person may have anorexia or bulimia? What else might
National Health Education you notice if a person has an eating disorder that involves exercise or sports?
Standards:
http://www.cdc.gov/
healthyschools/sher/standards/
3. What effects do eating disorders have on the body? How might an eating disorder
affect a person’s family and social life? How could it affect school?
index.htm
© 2016 The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth. Reproduction permitted for individual classroom use.
 Grades 9 to 12 • Health Problems Series
Eating Disorders
Activities for Students
Note: The following activities are written in language appropriate for sharing with your students.

A Healthy Dose of Reality

Objectives:
Students will:
• Learn how media can influence body image, self-esteem, and eating disorders
• Evaluate media images for positive and negative effects on body image and self-esteem
• Explore the value of dedicating large amounts of time and energy to personal appearance

Materials:
• Computer with Internet access and printer, or magazines
• Scissors, glue sticks, poster boards; or graphic arts software

Class Time:
60 minutes

Activity:
Advertising and other media images are all around us. Companies spend a lot of time and money creating these images
to sell us their goods and services, but sometimes they also promote negative ideas about what's healthy or attractive.

Now it’s time to turn the tables.

We're each going to create a poster or infographic called “A Healthy Dose of Reality.” You don’t have to be a gifted
artist to do this, but you do have to do some research. After reading the TeensHealth.org articles, search the Internet
or magazines for images that you think promote unhealthy eating habits or a starved or unhealthy appearances. Next,
find images that represent the opposite: good nutrition and healthy bodies. Then use these images to start a poster or
infographic. You can add your own drawings, and text to explain your message.

Extensions:
1. Here’s the flipside: Just because someone is thin – or even very thin – doesn’t mean that he or she has an eating
disorder. But a quick glance at celebrity tabloids will show you that people like to speculate about whether those
around them have eating disorders or are “dangerously thin.” Rumors like this can be hurtful, especially in high
school. Now that you have experience with a poster campaign, come up with a slogan for a second campaign that
encourages people to avoid rumors and speculation about other people’s weights.

2. History is full of people who didn’t obsess over their looks because they were too busy getting things done and
making positive changes in the world. Pick a great person in history, and imagine that an interviewer asks,
“What do you think about people's obsession with how they look?” Write the person’s response.

© 2016 The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth. Reproduction permitted for individual classroom use.
 Grades 9 to 12 • Health Problems Series
Eating Disorders
Helping a Friend

Objectives:
Students will:
• Learn the physical effects of eating disorders
• Discuss help available to people with eating disorders
• Explore the roles of friends, family, teachers, and coaches in identifying and addressing eating disorders

Materials:
• Pen or pencil and "Helping a Friend" handout, or computer word processing program and printer

Class Time:
45 minutes

Activity:
Here are two people with eating disorders. Write a paragraph for each that describes possible signs of the disorder
that other people might notice. Next, write a paragraph about the health consequences that each person may have.

 Sophia is 15. At 5’5” tall and 115 pounds, she looks in the mirror and sees a fat person. At dinner, she tells her
parents, “I’m not hungry – I’ll eat later.” But Sophia doesn’t eat later because she has begun to starve herself
in secret. For the past week, she’s been eating about 400 calories a day.

 Daryl is 16. He's a wrestler – the best in his weight class. But if he gains 5 pounds, he’ll get bumped up a weight
class and have to wrestle larger guys and possibly lose. Daryl exercises obsessively. He also takes laxatives to
lose weight, and he has thrown up a few times after friends dragged him out for fast food. Daryl even stops
drinking water a day before he gets weighed for a match.

Pretend that these two students are your friends. How would you go about helping them? What advice would you give
them?

Reproducible Materials
Handout: Helping a Friend
KidsHealth.org/classroom/9to12/problems/conditions/eating_disorders_handout1.pdf

Quiz: Eating Disorders

KidsHealth.org/classroom/9to12/problems/conditions/eating_disorders_quiz.pdf

Answer Key: Eating Disorders

KidsHealth.org/classroom/9to12/problems/conditions/eating_disorders_quiz_answers.pdf

KidsHealth.org is devoted to providing the latest children’s health information. The site, which is widely
recommended by educators, libraries, and school associations, has received the “Teachers’ Choice Award for
the Family” and the prestigious Pirelli Award for “Best Educational Media for Students.” KidsHealth comes from
the nonprofit Nemours Foundation. Check out www.KidsHealth.org to see the latest additions!

© 2016 The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth. Reproduction permitted for individual classroom use.
 Health Problems Series
Eating Disorders
Name: Date:

Helping a Friend
Sophia is 15. At 5’5” tall and 115 pounds, she looks in Daryl is 16. He's a wrestler – the best in his weight class.
the mirror and sees a fat person. At dinner, she tells But if he gains 5 pounds, he’ll get bumped up a weight
her parents, “I’m not hungry – I’ll eat later.” But class and have to wrestle larger guys and possibly lose.
Sophia doesn’t eat later because she has begun to Justin exercises obsessively. He also takes laxatives to
starve herself in secret. For the past week, she’s lose weight, and he has thrown up a few times after
been eating about 400 calories a day. friends dragged him out for fast food. Justin even stops
drinking water a day before he gets weighed for a match.
Possible signs of Sophia's eating disorder that
other people might notice: Possible signs of Daryl's eating disorder that other
people might notice:

Health consequences Sophia might face: Health consequences Daryl might face:

How I might be able to help Sophia: How I might be able to help Daryl:

© 2016 The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth. Reproduction permitted for individual classroom use.
 Health Problems Series
Eating Disorders
Name: Date:

Quiz
Instructions: Answer each question.

1. People with binge-eating disorder:

a. Focus on eating only healthy foods.
b. Don't try to compensate by purging food.
c. Schedule times to overeat.

2. People with anorexia:

a. have an intense fear of being fat
b. feel better when they’ve reached their goal weight
c. eat huge amounts of food, but don’t gain weight

3. People with bulimia:

a. don’t participate in sports
b. quickly begin to look very different
c. may use laxatives or diuretics to lose weight

4. True or false: People with eating disorders often hide their extreme eating behaviors from others.

5. True or false: Eating disorders are common among teens.

6. True or false: Self-esteem is not something a person can improve.

7. True or false: There are lots of ways to help a friend who has an eating disorder.

8. True or false: You can tell by looking at a person if he or she has an eating disorder.

9. True or false: People with eating disorders can become withdrawn and less social.

10. True or false: Eating disorders are treated with medication because they're purely physical problems.

© 2016 The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth. Reproduction permitted for individual classroom use.
 Health Problems Series
Eating Disorders

Quiz Answer Key

1. People with binge-eating disorder:

a. Focus on eating only healthy foods.
b. Don't try to compensate by purging food.
c. Schedule times to overeat.

2. People with anorexia:

a. have an intense fear of being fat
b. feel better when they’ve reached their goal weight
c. eat huge amounts of food but don’t gain weight

3. People with bulimia:

a. don’t participate in sports
b. quickly begin to look very different
c. may use laxatives or diuretics to lose weight

4. True or false: People with eating disorders often hide their extreme eating behaviors from others.

5. True or false: Eating disorders are common among teens.

6. True or false: Self-esteem is not something a person can improve.

7. True or false: There are lots of ways to help a friend who has an eating disorder.

8. True or false: You can tell by looking at a person if he or she has an eating disorder.

9. True or false: People with eating disorders can become withdrawn and less social.

10. True or false: Eating disorders are treated with medication because they're purely physical problems.

© 2016 The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth. Reproduction permitted for individual classroom use.