Eating Disorders Center
General Overview
An eating disorder is a complex psychological illness characterized by a distorted body image, an intense fear of gaining weight, and an obsession with food.
InDepth
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Find answers in our in-depth report on eating disorders:
- What are eating disorders?
- What are the risk factors?
- What are the symptoms?
- How are they diagnosed?
- How are they treated?
- What are the screening tests?
- How can I reduce my risk?
- What questions should I ask my healthcare provider?
Living With Eating Disorders
Read how one woman was able to recover from anorexia and bulimia.
A struggle with an eating disorder is a family affair. What can you do if one of your family members has an eating disorder?
Eating disorders can disrupt school, work, and relationships and cause serious health problems that may require ongoing medical care and even hospitalization. In severe cases, they can cause permanent disability and even death.
Treating Eating Disorders
Before you jump into therapy, there are important issues that you need to consider.
Although many people can't imagine sharing their problems with a group, group therapy is a way for individuals to work on their problems in a protected and confidential atmosphere.
If you or someone you love needs therapy, it helps to know the difference between the types of mental health professionals.
Special Topics
Many men—unaware that these diseases affect both sexes—may fail to recognize symptoms. Likewise, doctors and families often don't suspect these illnesses, which delays therapy and makes disorders difficult to treat.
Related Conditions
Natural and Alternative Treatments (By Condition)
Academy for Eating Disorders. http://www.aedweb.org/
Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc. http://www.anred.com
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders http://www.anad.org/