Is laxative abuse considered an eating disorder?

My gf's daughter just informed her mother that a lot of girls at school lost tons of weight this summer by taking laxatives this summer. He best friend is taking 6 a day. This seems very unhealthy and extreme to me. Does it deprive your body of nuitrients and water causing malnutrion and dehydration? I really can't find much info on web md sights. Any thoughts? My gf is worried that her daughter will fall into this trap so what should she look for?

any professional would treat this similar to an eating disorder and it is NOT healthy at all! taking laxatives too much can permanently damage your intestinal system not to mention (as you said) dyhydrate and malnourish you. if she is worried about her daughter falling into this trap your gf should just outright talk to her about it. if she sits around looking for signs she may not catch on until its too late. by talking to her daughter she can establish open lines of communication not just for this but for any problem in the future. also, it gives her the oppurtunity to teach her daughter about exercise and good nutrition as a means to lose weight rather than laxatives or any other drug out there. maybe if the case is that the daughter really does want to lose weight they can have some mother/daughter exercise time which will also serve to make them closer.

It is very dangerous.

http://www.anred.com/lax.html
Yes. By abusing laxatives and enemas, some people with eating disorders try to rush food through their bodies before the calories can be absorbed. These practices are harmful, even potentially fatal, and they are not an effective weight-loss method.

* You can upset your electrolyte balance. Electrolytes are minerals like sodium and potassium that are dissolved in the blood and other body fluids. They must be present in very specific amounts and exact ratios for proper functioning of nerves and muscles, including the heart muscle.

* Laxatives and enemas (and also forced vomiting) can upset this balance by flushing essential minerals out of the body, resulting in muscle cramps, tremors, spasms, irregular heartbeat, and in some cases cardiac arrest. The heart stops, and unless the person receives immediate emergency medical treatment, s/he dies.

* Laxatives and enemas (and also vomiting) remove needed fluid from the body. The resulting dehydration can lead to tremors, weakness, blurry vision, fainting spells, kidney damage, and in some cases death. Severe dehydration requires medical treatment. Drinking fluid may not hydrate cells and tissues quickly enough to prevent organ damage or death.

* Laxatives irritate intestinal nerve endings, which in turn stimulate muscle contractions that move the irritant through the gut and out of the body. After a while the nerve endings no longer respond to stimulation. The person must now take greater and greater amounts of laxatives to produce bowel movements. S/he has become laxative dependent and without artificial stimulation may not have any bowel movements at all.

* Laxatives and enemas strip away protective mucus that lines the colon, leaving it vulnerable to infection.

* Enemas can stretch the colon, which over time becomes a limp sack with no muscle tone. No longer can it generate the muscle contractions necessary to move fecal matter out of the body.

* Laxatives abusers seem to have more trouble with the following problems than do nonusers: irritable bowel syndrome (rectal pain, gas, and episodes of constipation and diarrhea) and bowel tumors (both benign and cancerous).
http://www.anred.com/lax.html
It can cause "lazy bowel syndrome" and robs your body of nutrients. This is a legitimate eating disorder and should be medically treated.
Laxative abuse is considered a symptom of eating disorders. It's most often seen with bulemia but can occur in anorexic patients as well. Please look at this link from the National Eating Disorders Association...

http://www.edap.org/p.asp?webpage_id=320...
It's one well-documented component of eating disorders, definitely.

And it does upset, potentially very dangerously, your electrolyte balance. All those fluids you lose deplete potassium and other essentials. (A low potassium level can make your heart tank. Not good.) They need to be stopped from doing this.