StoreDisordered Eating
Disordered eating describes irregular patterns of eating behaviours, such as self-starvation, bingeing, purging and exercising obsessively. Although there may be some similarities between these behaviours and the clinically defined eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia), they are not diagnosed as such, and are instead considered to be atypical, or sub clinical.
This does not mean, however, that disordered eating is less serious or warrants less attention than anorexia or bulimia because it doesn’t quite fit a specific diagnosis.
For example, someone may binge eat and purge regularly, but not as often as is required for a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa. Or they may restrict their calorie intake to only a few hundred per day, but their weight has not yet dropped enough for a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa.
The above situations are clearly very destructive in many ways, causing a great deal of distress to the sufferer, placing their health in grave danger, and they signal deeper psychological problems.
Many people with disordered eating do not display all the symptoms of anorexia or bulimia or to the degree required for a diagnosis of one of these diseases. But they still have an eating disorder and may be given a diagnosis of Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.
More Information
Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified - Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) is the diagnosis given for an eating disorder that has some symptoms of anorexia or bulimia, but not all.
Binge Eating - Binge eating is when a person eats an abnormally large amount of food while feeling out of control and powerless to stop.
Complusive Exercise - Compulsive exercise describes a need or compulsion to exercise for longer and more vigorously than what is considered normal.
Purging - Purging is the act of getting rid of food or drink by using methods such as self-induced vomiting, enemas, diuretics or laxatives.
Orthorexia - Orthorexia describes a continual obsession with food. Orthorexic people develop a fixation with healthy food, and will only eat foods they consider to be pure and natural.
Chewing and Spitting - Chewing and spitting literally involves chewing food, enjoying the taste of it, and spitting it out instead of swallowing it.