Eating Disorder Assessment

A quick assessment that can be carried out to discover if any of your players has a disorder is to ask them to answer, honestly, these five questions:

1.     Do you ever make yourself vomit because you feel uncomfortably full?
2.     Do you ever feel that you may have lost control over the quantity of food you eat?
3.     Does food dominate your life? Where, when, what, why and how you eat?
4.     Do you get told that you look thin but you see yourself as fat?
5.     Have you ever lost more than 2 stone in a three month period, without medical assistance or guidance?

If any player answered yes to two or more of these questions, then there exists the possibility that they may suffer from an eating disorder.  So you should now recommend that they contact a trained and qualified professional, who ideally specialises in eating disorders.  If they are unprepared to act, then it may become your responsibility to inform the player’s parents. This should not be viewed as a breach of trust or telling tales, because the long term health of the player is being placed in jeopardy.  However, disorders do not only affect young players, the player your trying to assist may be an adult, in this situation you should offer as much support as you can and also possibly approach their loved ones to inform them. 

The long term health of the player is at risk if such a disorder is not recognised and correctly supervised and managed.