Eating disorders

Patients with eating disorders have in common the core psychopathology of extreme concerns about body shape and weight.

There are two specific diagnoses:

• anorexia nervosa
• bulimia nervosa

A third or more of patients do not fulfill diagnostic criteria for these conditions. They may be considered to have an atypical eating disorder.

It is possible for individuals of one diagnostic category to crossover to another one during the course of their illness (1).

Reference:

• (1) Anderluh M et al. Lifetime course of eating disorders: design and validity testing of a new strategy to define the eating disorders phenotype. Psychol Med. 2009; 39(1):105-14.