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Eating Disorders
Reviewed by Medicinsk Expert•Last updated: 2026-10-22•Mental Health Behavior

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are serious medical conditions involving severe disturbances in eating behaviors and thoughts that require professional treatment.

Overview

Eating disorders are serious mental health disorders, not a lifestyle choice. They involve severe problems with your thoughts about food and your eating behaviors, which can lead to significant health issues, including heart and kidney problems, or death.

Types of Eating Disorders

  • Binge-eating: Characterized by out-of-control eating, often continuing even after feeling full, followed by feelings of guilt, shame, and distress.
  • Bulimia nervosa: Involves periods of binge-eating followed by purging (vomiting, laxatives), fasting, or excessive exercise.
  • Anorexia nervosa: Involves avoiding or severely restricting food. Individuals may have a distorted body image, seeing themselves as overweight even when dangerously underweight. It has the highest death rate of any mental disorder.

Symptoms

Symptoms vary by disorder but often include:

  • Binge-eating: Eating unusually large amounts of food, eating in secret, and feeling distressed or ashamed.
  • Bulimia nervosa: Binge-eating symptoms plus purging behaviors, which can lead to inflamed throats, worn tooth enamel, and electrolyte imbalances.
  • Anorexia nervosa: Starvation, extreme thinness, intense fear of weight gain, and physical complications like bone thinning, muscle wasting, and organ failure.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Diagnosis involves a medical history, physical exam, and blood or urine tests to rule out other conditions. Treatment is tailored to the individual and often involves a team of providers, including:

  • Psychotherapy: Including cognitive behavioral approaches to change negative thought patterns.
  • Medical care: Monitoring and treating physical complications.
  • Nutrition counseling: Helping patients reach and maintain a healthy weight.
  • Medicines: Such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers.

Some individuals may require hospitalization or residential treatment programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Physical recovery is a gradual process that varies by individual, but many patients begin to see improvements in vital signs and lab values within the first few weeks of nutritional rehabilitation. However, full physiological recovery, including the restoration of bone density and the resumption of regular menstrual cycles, can take months to years. It is crucial to continue medical monitoring even after weight stabilization, as the body needs time to re-establish normal metabolic and hormonal functions.
Family involvement is a critical component of treatment, particularly for adolescents and young adults, as it helps create a supportive home environment that reduces conflict around food. Family-based therapy (FBT) is often the first-line treatment for younger patients, empowering parents to take an active role in meal planning and monitoring. For older adolescents and adults, family involvement is still beneficial for emotional support and understanding the disorder, but the patient may take a more central role in their own therapeutic decisions. The level of involvement is tailored to the patient's age, independence, and specific treatment plan.
Individuals with bulimia nervosa or atypical anorexia may maintain a normal or even overweight body mass index (BMI) while still suffering from severe eating disorders. Subtle physical signs include swollen glands in the neck or jaw (parotid gland enlargement) from frequent vomiting, worn or chipped tooth enamel, calluses on the knuckles (Russell's sign) from inducing vomiting, and frequent trips to the bathroom immediately after meals. Other indicators include irregular menstrual cycles, dizziness, fatigue, and changes in skin texture, such as dryness or the presence of fine hair (lanugo) on the arms or back.
Some medications, such as certain antipsychotics or mood stabilizers, can cause weight gain as a side effect. However, in the context of anorexia nervosa, weight gain is a therapeutic goal, so this side effect may be acceptable or even beneficial. For bulimia or binge-eating disorder, where weight gain is not the primary goal, clinicians carefully select medications with lower risks of metabolic side effects, such as SSRIs. Regular monitoring of weight, blood sugar, and lipid levels is essential to manage these risks and ensure the medication is appropriate for the patient's specific condition.
Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

MedlinePlus brings together authoritative health information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations.

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