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An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient eats a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons ; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity.
Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten from the binging phase of the process. Binge eating refers to eating a large amount of food in a short amount of time. Purging refers to the attempts to get rid of the food consumed. This may be done by vomiting or taking laxatives. Other efforts to lose weight may include the use of diuretics, stimulants, water fasting, or excessive exercise. Most people with bulimia are at a normal weight. The forcing of vomiting may result in thickened skin on the knuckles, breakdown of the teeth and effects on metabolic rate and caloric intake which cause thyroid dysfunction. Bulimia is frequently associated with other mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder and problems with drugs or alcohol. There is also a higher risk of suicide and self-harm. Clinical studies show a relationship between bulimia and vulnerable narcissism as caused by childhood 'parental invalidation' leading to a later need for social validation.
Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a proposed eating disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with eating healthy food. The term was introduced in 1997 by American physician Steven Bratman, M.D. He suggested that some people's dietary restrictions intended to promote health may paradoxically lead to unhealthy consequences, such as social isolation, anxiety, loss of ability to eat in a natural, intuitive manner, reduced interest in the full range of other healthy human activities, and, in rare cases, severe malnutrition or even death.
The Eating Attitudes Test, created by David Garner, is a widely used 26-item, standardized self-reported questionnaire of symptoms and concerns characteristic of eating disorders. The EAT is useful in assessing "eating disorder risk" in high school, college and other special risk samples such as athletes. EAT has been extremely effective in screening for anorexia nervosa in many populations.
Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a twelve-step program founded in 1960 for people with problems related to food including, but not limited to, compulsive overeaters, those with binge eating disorder, bulimics and anorexics. Anyone with a problematic relationship with food is welcomed; OA's Third Tradition states that the only requirement for memberships is a desire to stop eating compulsively.
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is an American non-profit organization devoted to preventing eating disorders, providing treatment referrals, and increasing the education and understanding of eating disorders, weight, and body image. The National Eating Disorders Association organizes and sponsors National Eating Disorders Week. Also known as NEDAwareness Week, it takes place during the last week of February, and is "a collective effort of primarily volunteers, including eating disorder professionals, health care providers, students, educators, social workers, and individuals committed to raising awareness of the dangers surrounding eating disorders and the need for early intervention and treatment."
The Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) is a self-report questionnaire used to assess the presence of eating disorders, (a) anorexia nervosa both restricting and binge-eating/purging type; (b) bulimia nervosa; and (c) eating disorder not otherwise specified including binge eating disorder. The original questionnaire consisted of 64 questions, divided into eight subscales. It was created in 1984 by David M. Garner and others. There have been two subsequent revisions by Garner: the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) and the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3).
The Body Attitudes Test (BAT) was developed by Probst et al. in 1995. It was designed for the assessment of multiple eating disorders in women. The BAT measures an individual's subjective body experience and attitudes towards one's own body. It is a questionnaire composed of twenty items which yields four different factors that evaluate the internal view of the patient's own body.
The Ben-Tovim Walker Body Attitudes Questionnaire (BAQ) is a 44 item self-report questionnaire divided into six subscales that measures a woman's attitude towards their own body. The BAQ is used in the assessment of eating disorders. It was devised by D.I. Ben-Tovim and M.K. Walker in 1991.
The Eating Disorder Examination Interview (EDE) devised by Cooper & Fairburn (1987) is a semi-structured interview conducted by a clinician in the assessment of an eating disorder.
The SCOFF questionnaire utilizes an acronym in a simple five question test devised for use by non-professionals to assess the possible presence of an eating disorder. It was devised by Morgan et al. in 1999. The original SCOFF questionnaire was devised for use in the United Kingdom, thus the original acronym needs to be adjusted for users in the United States and Canada. The "S" in SCOFF stands for "Sick" which in British English means specifically to vomit. In American English and Canadian English it is synonymous with "ill". The "O" is used in the acronym to denote "one stone". A "stone" is an Imperial unit of weight which made up of 14 lbs. The letters in the full acronym are taken from key words in the questions:
The Binge Eating Scale is a sixteen item questionnaire used to assess the presence of binge eating behavior indicative of an eating disorder. It was devised by J. Gormally et al. in 1982 specifically for use with obese individuals. The questions are based upon both behavioral characteristics and the emotional, cognitive response, guilt or shame.
The Anorectic Behavior Observation Scale (ABOS) is a thirty-item diagnostic questionnaire devised to be answered by the parents, spouse or other family member of an individual suspected of having an eating disorder. It was developed by Vandereyken et al. in 1992. The ABOS is useful for evaluations of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) before, during, and after clinical treatments. It can also be a significant tool for the screening of subjects in early-stage ED.
The Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey (MEBS) is a 30 item self-report questionnaire used to assess the presence of an eating disorder. It is designed for use with both male and females age 10 to adult. The MEBS was originally designed for use by McGue et al. in the Minnesota Twin Family Study (MTFS) a longitudinal study to assess the onset of psychological pathology including eating disorders among 1,400 twin girls and their parents.
The Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale (EDDS) is a 22 item self-report questionnaire that assesses the presence of three eating disorders; anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. It was adapted by Stice et al. in 2000 from the validated structured psychiatric interview: The Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) and the eating disorder module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID)16.
Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Anorexia is a term of Greek origin: an- and orexis, translating literally to "a loss of appetite"; the adjective nervosa indicating the functional and non-organic nature of the disorder. Anorexia nervosa was coined by Gull in 1873 but, despite literal translation, the symptom of hunger is frequently present and the pathological control of this instinct is a source of satisfaction for the patients.
The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire is a questionnaire often applied in food intake-behavior related research. It goes back to its publication in 1985 by Albert J. Stunkard and Samuel Messick.
Many memory impairments exist as a result from or cause of eating disorders. Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by abnormal and disturbed eating patterns that affect the lives of the individuals who worry about their weight to the extreme. These abnormal eating patterns involve either inadequate or excessive food intake, affecting the individual's physical and mental health.
Grazing is a human eating pattern characterized as "the repetitive eating of small or modest amounts of food in an unplanned manner throughout a period of time, and not in response to hunger or satiety cues".
Body image disturbance (BID) is a common symptom in patients with eating disorders and is characterized by an altered perception of one's own body.
References
- ↑ The Bulimic Test-Revised: Validation with DSM:IV Criteria for Bulimia Nervosa; Psychological Assessment Vol.8-No.2;June 1996