An eating disorder is an abnormal eating habit that may include either excessive intake of food or taking very small amount of food. The causes of eating disorder are very complex and haven't been understood yet. Usually eating disorder involves negative thoughts and feelings about your body weight. It is more common in girls but they are not exceptions to boys.

The main types of eating disorder are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In anorexia, people have psychological disorder that creates a fear of becoming overweight in the individuals and a drastic weight loss can be observed. Whereas, Bulimia is characterized by binge eating and purging, but in this case weight fluctuation is not observed. Usually the individuals suffering from anorexia are thin or underweight but those suffering with bulimia have normal weight. Some other common types of eating disorders are binge eating disorder and obesity. And the types of eating disorder in children are childhood obesity and food refusal in young children.

The causes of eating disorder are not yet clear but the factors can be a combination of genetic, social, psychological and family factors. In kids, the causes of eating disorder can be the appearance and some sports, which emphasize certain weight classes may bring the kids at a risk of eating disorders. The other causes of eating disorders like obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety disorder are the problems which put the individual at an even higher risk of eating disorders.

The characteristic symptoms of eating disorder are binge eating and purging. But the other symptoms of eating disorder vary with the type of eating disorder you have. The symptoms of anorexia can be intense fear of gaining weight, excessive exercise, thin appearance, irritability, frequently being cold, dehydration etc. and the symptoms of bulimia can be excessive eating, abnormal bowel function, low self esteem and menstrual irregularities etc.