This week is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 20 million women and 10 million males in the United States will have an eating disorder at some point in their life. These eating disorders include anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

Those experiencing an eating disorder can be any weight, gender or age. More than two-thirds of youth with an eating disorder go untreated. Eating disorders can cause life-threatening consequences and affect a person’s physical, mental and emotional well-being.

“Guys and girls share the same signs and symptoms,” school nurse Brooke Hancock said. “People don’t think that guys really have eating disorders, and sometimes it’s the same way with girls. People just don’t think eating disorders happen.”

Anorexia, bulimia and binge eating have different symptoms and signs that can be noticed.

“With anorexia, you can note rapid weight loss, being skinny where you can see their bones and wearing baggy clothes,” Hancock said. “They won’t eat with you and won’t show hunger. With bulimia, as soon as they eat, they go to the bathroom to throw up. With binge eating, look for people eating an excessive amount of food and immediately disappearing.”

Eating disorders have severe consequences that can be fatal.

“Not eating affects your electrolyte balance and all the nutrients that go through your body,” Hancock said. “Your bones become very brittle. If it’s severe enough, it can interfere with your reproduction system to where you can’t have children. The main thing is your heart. You can die from a heart attack.”

Hancock said that the best thing to do for someone who might have an eating disorder is to advise him or her to get help.

“Talk to a counselor about it and tell them you have a friend you are worried about,” Hancock said. “The best thing is just to seek help. You can’t make them change but just get them to talk to someone.”

Hancock said high school students need to be nice with each other and need to quit bullying others over the way they look.

“I remember when I was in high school, people put so much pressure on guys and girls to look a certain way,” Hancock said. “Accept who you are because we are not going to be perfect, but you do need to take care of yourself at the same time and make healthy choices.”