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The recent increase in adolescent hospitalizations due to eating disorders signals a concerning trend. There is a continuous steep rise in teenage admissions, emphasizing the urgency of understanding anorexia and its symptoms in the younger generation for prompt intervention. 

Here are signs that a child may have anorexia nervosa:

Emaciation

Observing deviations from their growth curve unrelated to any medical causes is crucial. A sudden weight loss or having a stagnant weight, which deviates from the expected increase in weight during adolescence, may signal disrupted eating patterns and hint at anorexia.

Distorted Body Image

Initially benign intentions -- wanting to eat healthily, exercise, or shed a few pounds -- often pave the path toward an eating disorder. Vigilance is vital for parents since these pursuits can spiral into drastic dietary restrictions and compulsive exercising. Anorexic tendencies emerge when pleasure in eating diminishes, replaced by rigid dietary rules and obsessive workout routines.

Extreme Dieting

Anorexia in teenagers often manifests through gradual or sudden exclusion of specific foods or entire food groups. Initially enjoyed items may suddenly become undesirable, often justified under the guise of health consciousness or ethical reasons, like avoiding animal products. These limitations stem from anxiety, leading to the avoidance of anxiety-inducing foods, primarily calorie-dense while favoring "safe" low-calorie alternatives.

Body dysmorphia

Body dysmorphia or body image struggles are typical in teens with eating disorders like anorexia. This is driven by an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted self-perception. Teens may fixate on body parts, incessantly "body-checking" through pinching or frequent weighing. This fixation intensifies with continued weight loss, accompanied by the belief that reaching an eating disorder's "goal weight" will alleviate their distress, only to set an even lower goal thereafter.

Personality changes and academic impact

Anorexia doesn't just affect physical health; it alters temperament, concentration, and relationships. Parents notice stark behavioral shifts -- frustration, explosiveness, and altered conversational dynamics around food. Academic performance may also suffer, though grades might not immediately reflect this decline.