Anorexia Nervosa (DSM IV)
• Refusal to maintain body weight at or above
85% of expected weight*
• Intense fear of gaining weight
• Body image disturbance
• In females, amenorrhea (lack of 3 menstrual
cycles)*
– Restricting type
– Binging/Purging type
Bulimia Nervosa
• Recurrent episodes of binge eating characterized
by
– Eating a larger amount of food than most people
would eat in 2 hours
– Sense of lack of control over eating
• Recurrent compensatory behavior to prevent
weight gain
• Occurs 2x a week for 3 months*
• Self evaluation unduly influenced by body shape
and weight
• Purging vs. Nonpurging type
Eating Disorder Not Otherwise
Specified
• All criteria for anorexia except amennorhea, or
weight is in normal range
• Bulimia symptoms but not quite as often
• Inappropriate compensation after small
amounts of food
• Chewing and spitting
• Binge eating disorder
Fact Sheet (from National Eating
Disorders Association)
• Anorexia has the highest fatality rate of all
mental illnesses (20%)
• Females between 15-24 who have anorexia
have a mortality rate 12 times higher than the
death rate of all other causes of death
(Sullivan, 1995)
• EDs on the rise every decade since 1930s
• Increasing in diverse ethnic and sociocultural
groups
Dieting
• 40-60% of high school girls diet
• 50% girls, 30% of teen boys use unhealthy weight
control behaviors
• 13% of high school girls purge
• 30-40% of junior high girls worry about weight
• 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner
• 40% of 9 year olds have dieted
• 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat
• 5 year olds are concerned about weight
• 35% of “normal dieters” progress to
pathological dieting
• 20-25% of those progress to eating disorders