Certain psychological conditions can lead to disordered eating, including behaviours such as extreme dieting, binge eating and bringing up food on purpose. This affects more teenagers than adults and more girls than boys (nine girls to every one boy).
Anxiety, worry, loneliness and difficulty in managing family relationships are all factors that can lead to a refusal to eat or to excessive eating. Stress and boredom often result in the compulsive eating of certain foods, called ´bingeing´.