[stelles]

Hey,
This is a hard spot to be in. Watching a friend go through something like this is extremely difficult. I am in a similar experience, and my friend ended up getting pretty bad, so I told the school counselor. This was a great decision - I learned that even if you're friends parents know part of what they're going through, they probably don't know enough.

Do their parents or any other adults know what he is struggling with? If not, you should encourage him to tell an adult he trusts. They can help more than friends can, and get him to a counselor or doctor. If it gets really bad, telling te school counselor or his parents yourself might be a good idea. You might think he'll hate you for it, but he'll probably be fine with it and maybe even grateful later. I'm pretty sure the school counselor would be required to tell his parents, but you can look in to your school and state rules/laws (that might actually be a federal law... look in to it if you're thinking this sounds like a good option.).

So, understanding the disorder... basically, anorexia is an eating disorder that makes a person eat very little, or think they need to be skinnier, even if they're already underweight. People with it may excersize a lot, follow diets designed to make them lose weight fast, or wear clothes that they think make them look skinnier. It can be incredibly dangerous, and many people, with it end up being hospitalized.

Hope that helped, good luck!