Help! Should I Worry About My Adolescent’s Eating Habits?

“My child has changed their eating patterns recently and I am not sure if I should be worried or not.”  

As a parent, we are always on the lookout for our children’s safety and trying to act in their best interest. So, when our child reaches adolescence, we often are excited that they can take on more of their own food preparations and unfortunately, this can lead to some further concerns too. What should you do if your teen suddenly changes their eating habits?

When it comes to food and dietary changes, deciphering between what is a potential problem and what is not can feel overwhelming. While every situation is individual and unique, there are a few things that I would like you consider in this blog post.

Key Messages:  

• Monitor changes in eating patterns: Sudden changes in your child’s eating habits may be normal, but they could also indicate something more concerning. 

• Consider the context: Pay attention to how food is discussed in your home, whether it’s in a black-and-white, limiting way, or if there’s more flexibility and variety. 

• Understand motivations: Look at why your child is changing their diet—are they doing it for health, animal welfare, body image, or digestive discomfort? 

• Watch for restrictive patterns: Be aware of behaviors like eliminating whole food groups, tracking food intake rigidly, or focusing on numbers/amounts. 

• Social impact: If dietary changes are affecting their social life or participation in food-related activities, this could be a red flag. 

• Monitor emotional shifts: Restrictive eating can lead to emotional dysregulation, like irritability, stress, or low mood. 

• Check for physical signs: Be mindful of changes in energy, sleep patterns, or physical symptoms like dizziness or feeling unusually cold 

How is food discussed in the home currently?  

• Do we talk about food in a black and white manner? (Think healthy or unhealthy? Good or bad?) Or is there encouragement to eat a variety of all foods? 

• Do you or anyone else in the home eat in a particular manner that may be limiting (for any reason)? Has your child started to discuss food in more of a black and white manner?  

The reason this is so important to me to discuss, is to ensure that we are teaching our family that all foods fit into a healthy overall nutrition pattern. If food is thought of in more of a black and white manner, than this can lead to rigid thoughts or rules around food and even shame when consuming food.  

Why are they considering changing their diet?  

What has led to the recent change in dietary patterns?  

For example, are they recently more interested in animal welfare? Have they been experiencing discomfort when they eat certain foods? Have they expressed that they want to change their body size or appearance? 

Get curious with your loved one to see what has made them want to make these changes to their nutrition. Ensure that they are coming from a place of self-compassion and not shame induced changes.  

Have the dietary changes created some restrictive patterns?  

• Are they focusing on adding in variety or removing whole food groups? 

• Have they started tracking their intake or focusing on numbers and amounts in a rigid way?   

As you are exploring their “why” for the recent change, explore how they plan to implement these changes. Does the change require that all-or-nothing approach we are trying to avoid? For example, if they were always a meat-enjoying person and now they are wanting to try more vegetarian eating, could they try implementing more vegetarian meals or vegetarian options gradually instead of making the complete switch all at once? 

Is this impacting them socially?  

• Have their recent nutrition changes impacted their ability to be social with friends? 

• Are they still able to participate in the food environment with friends or has this led to them being more isolated socially?  

We eat for fuel AND we eat for taste and flavour and fun. Food is involved in most social events so we want to allow space and flexibility to allow for social environments, even if we are making changes to our nutrition routines.  

Have you noticed any shifts in their mood?  

When we make any change to our diet, especially when there is a restrictive or limiting component to that change, there is a risk that we are under-nourishing our brain and body.  

This may present emotionally as emotional dysregulation (irritability, heightened stress or worry, sadness or low mood).  

It can also present as increased fear or worry around being able to eat in different situations now that the patterns have shifted somewhat. As parents and caregivers, we can help our children explore how to build in flexibility and work through the fears that they might be feeling.  

Are you noticing shifts in their physical health?  

• Have they had less or more energy lately? 

• Have their sleep patterns changed as a result of the dietary changes? 

• Do they ever experience dizziness or seem to be more cold than usual?  

As mentioned above, health and safety are priorities for us as parents when we are supporting our children, no matter how old they are. If the dietary changes are creating worsening health outcomes, then we can step in and stop things from progressing further.  

As a general rule, if the changes to a person’s diet are creating rigid rules or impacting their quality of life negatively (socially, mentally, or physically) then we want to explore the changes further as it may be cause for concern.  

Have concerns about your teen’s eating habits and wondering if additional support is right at this time?

We are here to help! 

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