Eating issues are characterized as problems related to food consumption that may or may not meet criteria for an eating disorder. An eating disorder is an illness that is characterized by disordered eating patterns that cause distress and lead to impairment (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013).
Anorexia Nervosa – characterized by restricted eating, significantly low body weight, obsession with being thin, intense fear of becoming fat, and distorted body image.
Binge-Eating Disorder - characterized by repeated episodes excessive eating in a short period of time leading to a loss of control that is not followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors.
Bulimia Nervosa – characterized by eating large amounts of food leading to a loss of control that is followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors such as fasting, vomiting, using laxatives, or overexercising.
Diagnostic Considerations:
Clinicians treat people who describe their experiences with eating issues and disorders. Eating disorders appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in a distinct chapter (APA, 2013).
Eating disorders are included in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11; World Health Organization, 2018).
Treatment:
Treatment for eating disorders vary dependent on factors including co-occurring disorders. Common psychotherapeutic approaches support conscious awareness of feelings, emotion regulation enhancement, coping and calming strategies, communication and other skills that increase social support and relationships, conscious awareness of food choices and eating behaviors, supported exposure to feared eating and body-image related situations, appropriate responses to physical and psychological cues that trigger eating and body image symptoms, and collaboration with nutritionists, dieticians, and medical prescribers.
References:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Author.
World Health Organization. (2019). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (11th ed.). https://icd.who.int/