An eating disorder is an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, such as eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating. A person with an eating disorder may have started out just eating smaller or larger amounts of food, but at some point, the urge to eat less or more spiraled out of control. Severe distress or concern about body weight or shape may also characterize an eating disorder. Eating disorders frequently appear during the teen years or young adulthood but may also develop during childhood or later in life. Common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder - National Institute of Health
Anorexia
Anorexia, or anorexia nervosa, is an eating disorder. Anorexics have a problem keeping their body weight in a normal range or even above a minimal weight level considered to be healthy.
There are two types of anorexia; Restricting Type and Binge-Eating/Purging Type. Learn more...
Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder is a newly recognized condition that probably affects millions of Americans. People with binge eating disorder frequently eat large amounts of food while feeling a loss of control over their eating. This disorder is different from binge-purge syndrome because people with binge eating disorder usually do not purge afterward by vomiting or using laxatives. Learn more...
Bulimia
A person with bulimia usually engages in episodes of binge eating followed by the purging methods he/she has devised to prevent weight gain. The bulimic attempts to rid the body of the ingested food by purging. Purging takes the form of self-induced vomiting, the use of diuretics (water pills), or the heavy use of laxatives. Learn more...
Battling an Eating Disorder: When Bulimia Becomes a True American Idol Sized Problem
In a People Magazine article, American Idol contestant, Katherine McPhee disclosed that she has secretly suffered from bulimia for the past five years. It was her success in television's American Idol competition that inspired her to come forward and get help to recover from her life-threatening eating disorder. Learn more...
Characteristics and treatment of eating disorders
An eating disorder is marked by extremes. It is present when a person experiences severe disturbances in eating behavior, such as extreme reduction of food intake or extreme overeating, or feelings of extreme distress or concern about body weight or shape. Learn more...
Eating Disorders and Obesity
Eating disorders and obesity are usually seen as very different problems but actually share many similarities. This information sheet is designed to help parents, other adult caregivers, and school personnel better understand the links between eating disorders and obesity so they can promote healthy attitudes and behaviors related to weight and eating. Learn more...
Treatment of Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are abnormal eating behaviors, which include anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is defined as the refusal to reach or to keep a weight that is considered to be the minimum required for a person's height and age. Bulimia is an eating pattern of repeated occurrences of binge eating followed by attempts to keep from gaining weight. Learn more...
Answers to Common Questions about Counseling
Throughout life, there are times when help is needed to address problems and issues that cause emotional distress or make us feel overwhelmed. When experiencing these types of difficulties, individuals may benefit from the assistance of an experienced, trained professional. Learn more...
Are You an Emotional Eater? Tips to Cope With the Cravings
Emotional eating happens any time you eat not because you are physically hungry but because you have feelings of boredom, depression, loneliness, fear, anger or frustration. Eating takes your mind off the feelings. Eating comforts you. Eating in response to emotions and not hunger can result in overeating, unwanted weight gain, health problems and even greater stress. Learn more...
Bariatric Surgery for Severe Obesity
Bariatric surgery is an operation on the stomach and/or intestines that helps patients with extreme obesity to lose weight. This surgery is an option for people who cannot lose weight by other means or who suffer from serious health problems related to obesity. Learn more...
Body Image and Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Body image may be seen as "disturbed" when one's self-evaluation of appearance is at such a level that it interferes with social and/or occupational functioning, or causes elevated levels of anxiety and depression in the individual. Learn more...
Defining Overweight and Obesity
During the past several decades, obesity rates for all population groups - regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education level, or geographic region - have increased markedly. Overweight and obesity are both labels for ranges of weight that are greater than what is generally considered healthy for a given height. The terms also identify ranges of weight that have been shown to increase the likelihood of certain diseases and other health problems. Learn more...
Healthier Eating
Most Americans consume too many calories and not enough nutrients, according to the latest revision to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The typical American diet is low in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and high in saturated fat, salt, and sugar. As a result, more Americans than ever are overweight, obese, and at increased risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancers. Learn more...
Helping Your Overweight Child
Healthy eating and physical activity habits are key to a child's well-being. Eating too much and exercising too little may lead to overweight and related health problems that may follow children into their adult years. Learn more...
Overweight and Obesity: FAQs
Survey results indicate that an estimated 16 percent of children and adolescents ages 6-19 years are overweight. Learn more...
BodyWise Handbook
The BodyWise Eating Disorders Initiative is a part of the Girl Power! Campaign, conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The campaign seeks to reinforce and sustain positive values and health behaviors among girls and to address eating disorders and disordered eating. Learn more...
Prescription Medicine for the Treatment of Obesity
As with other chronic conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, the use of prescription medications may be appropriate for some people who are overweight or obese. Learn more...
The Numbers Count: Mental Health Disorders in America
Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Learn more...
Understanding Adult Obesity
The large number of people considered to be obese and the serious health risks that come with it make understanding its causes and treatment crucial. This fact sheet provides basic information about obesity. Learn more...