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Can Fasting Lead to An Eating Disorder?

Written By: Becky Mehr, MS, RDN, LDN, CEDS-C
Director of Outpatient Nutrition

Fasting has existed for centuries as a religious practice and for decades as an attempt to improve health and intentionally pursue weight loss. Each year, new trends emerge in the fitness, wellness and diet industries, with many fading over time. However, some practices, such as fasting, remain timeless and enduring. Fasting is important to talk about as it is often overlooked as a potential catalyst for the development of an eating disorder.

What Are Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders are psychosocial disorders that impact relationships with food, the body, and daily living, and their symptoms can function as a way to manage distressing emotional experiences. This means when someone feels uncomfortable emotions, they often try to do something to help decrease or stop the discomfort.

In the case of eating disorders, restricting, bingeing, and purging may offer short-term relief or even a sense of control. However, these behaviors are not a permanent solution and can have long-term psychological and physical consequences. Common eating disorder diagnoses include anorexia nervosa (AN), avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), binge eating disorder (BED), bulimia nervosa (BN), other specified eating disorder (OSFED).

Understanding Fasting

Fasting, as defined by Britannica is, “abstinence from food or drink or both for health, ritualistic, religious, or ethical purposes. The abstention may be complete or partial, lengthy, of short duration, or intermittent.” Some common types of fasting are:

Intermittent fasting: Involves setting specific intervals of time to eat and not eat in an attempt to “burn fat” or improve specific lab work.
Juice fasts: Includes only drinking juices in an attempt to “cleanse” the body or boost functions of specific organs.
Religious fasting: This varies on duration and holidays and is generally intended to observe and connect with God or a higher power.

The Link Between Fasting and Eating Disorders

When someone starts fasting, they rarely think it could result in the onset of an eating disorder. However, the act of restricting food, regardless of the intention behind it, can be a risk factor for the development of an eating disorder. For example, shifting eating patterns from internal cues (e.g., hunger) to external cues (e.g., only eating at certain times of the day), increases the risk of disordered eating behaviors. This can lead to an unhealthy preoccupation with food, eating in isolation due to hunger outside of the “approved” window, heightened urges to binge due to physical deprivation and psychological scarcity, or prolonged fasting in an attempt to improve outcomes based on feedback from others.

When Does Fasting Become a Problem?

When one puts the body into a calorie deficit or labels certain foods as forbidden through the rules of fasting, the brain and body respond. Here are some red flags that could indicate one’s fasting is slipping into an eating disorder.

Medical concerns: Prolonged restriction can lead to various physical issues, such as gastrointestinal (GI) issues of constipation, bloating, and nausea. During times of fasting, one might experience more fatigue, which could be associated with an energy deficiency or lack of key nutrients in the diet.
Disturbed sleep: When our brains do not receive enough fuel, blood glucose and hormones drop – resulting in difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or a continued preoccupation about food via dreams. You may even find yourself waking up with urges to eat in the middle of the night. If you have ever tried to sleep through the night with a hungry stomach – it’s hard.
Reduced focus/concentration: Our body is great at maintaining homeostasis when properly fed. When we reduce our intake, our blood sugar drops. The inability to concentrate and think clearly are often signs that we need more fuel. Once you eat, typically the fogginess disappears. Have you ever tried to work in a haze? It’s not as productive.
Low mood: When our brain and bodies do not get enough nutrients in the day, it can result in lower production of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. With prolonged restrictive eating, the production drops – impacting mood regulation and increasing our risk of depression and anxiety over time.
Withdrawal from social activities: If you frequently decline plans with friends or loved ones to stick to fasting rules, experience obsessive thoughts or intense anxiety around food that leads you to skip school or work or find that fasting is affecting your social calendar or daily activities, it could be a sign that fasting is becoming a problem.

Healthful Ways to Approach Food and Nutrition

It can be tempting to follow the latest trends in diet culture, but many of these trends pose significant risks to your overall health and well-being. While these tips may not be flashy or offer quick fixes, they are healthier approaches to food and nutrition that can improve your overall well-being.

Awareness: Awareness of our body’s cues expands beyond the sensations of hunger and fullness. Honoring our body by listening to hunger cues, fullness cues, and other physical sensations helps us to become more attuned to our needs both physically and emotionally. By setting rigid parameters around when and what to eat, we are interrupting the signals our body uses to build trust and communicate with us.
Connection: We are designed to be social, and food connects us to our culture, families and friends. We connect with others on various levels through the ways we nourish our bodies and the reasons behind it. Food can be celebratory and is meant to evoke a variety of emotions, such as joy, excitement, and at times wonder.
Flexibility: Flexibility is key when establishing a mindset of nourishment over restriction. Being flexible encompasses eating from a variety of sources like home cooked, fast food or quick prep meals based on the time you have available to eat, as well as the access you have to food during mealtime or when you’re hungry. Flexibility may also look like eating when you’re not hungry in response to a scheduling issue or eating something now, rather than later, because it’s currently warm and fresh.

Conclusion

Fasting has been promoted by professionals, celebrities in the media, however, forms of restriction carry various risks, including the risk of developing an eating disorder. When one turns to fasting in an attempt to improve health, they may be cutting out certain foods (or all foods) that may have once brought joy or pleasure, potentially negatively impacting their mental and social health. Fasting also overrides physical sensations of hunger and fullness in favor of rigid, external rules around what to eat, what not to eat, and what time to eat. The rigidity imposed can promote disconnection from the body and contribute to obsessive thoughts and preoccupation with food. Restriction can also lead to heightened urges to binge eat, especially when experiencing a state of food scarcity.

Support and Seeking Help

If you recognize that fasting has led to a disruption in your relationship with food, your mental health or your social life, consider seeking professional support from a registered dietitian in your state specializing in eating disorder treatment.

Not sure if you have an eating disorder? The Renfrew Center is here to support you.
Talk with one of our program information specialists to learn more about eating disorder treatment or schedule a comprehensive assessment.

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