The Quiet Plate

Diya, sixteen, from Kolkata, was a top student and a state-level swimmer. After a cousin joked about her "round cheeks" she began cutting out foods, first sweets, then rice, then whole meals. She told her mother she had …

Diya, sixteen, from Kolkata, was a top student and a state-level swimmer. After a cousin joked about her "round cheeks" she began cutting out foods, first sweets, then rice, then whole meals. She told her mother she had eaten at school.

She trained harder and wore loose clothes. She felt cold, her hair thinned, and she grew dizzy on the pool steps, but in the mirror she still saw someone she wanted to shrink. Her mother noticed that Diya cut her food into tiny pieces and counted things in her head, and that her periods had stopped.

After Diya fainted at practice, her parents took her to the family doctor, who checked her heart and blood tests and said she needed a team: a physician, a dietitian and a therapist. The whole family was asked to help at mealtimes, with calm support rather than arguments.

Recovery was not a straight line. Diya hated the first weeks, and some meals ended in tears. Her parents stayed calm and kept to the dietitian's plan. The therapist worked with her on perfectionism and on the cousin's comment that had started it. Slowly her colour returned, she went back to swimming only when her doctor agreed, and she began drawing again, which she had stopped without anyone noticing.

How to recognise it

• Skipping meals, hiding food or claiming to have eaten.

• An intense fear of gaining weight with a distorted view of the body.

• Excessive exercise and rigid rituals around food.

• Feeling cold, fainting, dizziness, thinning hair or missed periods.

• Pulling away from friends and becoming secretive.

What this story explains

This story shows anorexia nervosa: restriction, distorted body image and over-exercise, and why fainting and a slow heart are a medical emergency that needs a team and family involvement.

Probable root causes

• Genetic risk and a perfectionist, anxious temperament.

• Cultural pressure about thinness and teasing about the body.

• Sport settings that reward leanness.

• Low self-esteem, anxiety or a sense of control gained through food.

What to do

1. Take it seriously early; do not wait for the person to see the problem herself.

2. Book a medical check, because heart and blood tests matter.

3. Ask for a team: doctor, dietitian, therapist, psychiatrist, with family involved.

4. Keep mealtimes calm and predictable, and follow the dietitian's plan, not an online diet.

5. If there is fainting, chest pain or collapse, go to the nearest hospital or call the local emergency number.

6. Talk with the coach about rest and safety in training.

Whom to consult

• Family doctor or paediatrician first, to check physical health.

• An eating disorder team: dietitian, therapist, psychiatrist.

• School counsellor for support in school and sport.

• Emergency services or hospital for fainting or a slow heart rate.

Do and don’t

How to behave and communicate

• Use "I" statements: "I have noticed you seem tired and I am worried about you."

• Avoid food and body talk; focus on feelings and health.

• Listen first, without trying to fix or win.

• Stay warm if she denies it: "You do not have to agree with me. I will still help."

• Praise her courage in being honest about how she feels.