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Walden Behavioral Care

Other Eating Disorders

Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified or disordered eating, is the most common and widespread eating disorder affecting 2-13% of pre-pubescent females and 3-6% of post-pubescent females. People with "eating disorders not otherwise specified" exhibit symptoms which do not meet the strict criteria for eating disorder diagnosis, although they may be very severe. For instance, an individual with disordered eating may meet all the criteria for Anorexia Nervosa but manage to maintain normal weight. Examples Include:

 

  • For females, all of the criteria for Anorexia Nervosa are met except that the individual has regular menses.

  • All of the criteria for Anorexia Nervosa are met except that, despite significant weight loss, the individual's current weight is in the normal range.

  • The regular use of inappropriate compensatory behavior by an individual of normal body weight after eating small amounts of food (i.e. self-induced vomiting after the consumption of two cookies)

  • Repeatedly chewing and spitting out food, or ingesting large amounts of food without swallowing.

  • Compulsive Exercising

  • Muscle dysmorphic disorder (bigorexia) - people with this disorder obsess about being small, not muscular enough

  • Night-eating syndrome - person delays breakfast, and lunch and eats most of the day's calories at night

  • Pica - a craving for non-food items - clay, dirt, sand, chalk or paint