Eating Disorder Definitions
Eating disorders can be complicated and may involve one's emotional and mental health. To help encourage understanding, some descriptions of common eating disorders are provided below.
If you believe you or a loved one has an eating disorder, we can help. To contact us, online health history questionnaire, contact our clinic at 320-255-5996 or at edinfo@centracare.com.
Conditions We Treat
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by:
- weight loss (or lack of appropriate weight gain in growing children)
- difficulties maintaining an appropriate body weight for height, age, and stature
- distorted body image
People with anorexia generally restrict the number of calories and the types of food they eat. Some people with the disorder also exercise compulsively, purge via vomiting and laxatives, and/or binge eat.
Anorexia can affect people of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, races and ethnicities.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
Binge eating disorder (BED) is characterized by recurrent episodes of:
- Eating large quantities of food (often very quickly and to the point of discomfort)
- A feeling of a loss of control during the binge
- Experiencing shame, distress or guilt afterwards
BED also does not involve compensatory measures (e.g., purging) to counter the binge eating. It is the most common eating disorder in the United States.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating.
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED)
OSFED is a category used to encompass those individuals who did not meet strict diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa but still have a significant eating disorder.
