What are the Basics?
What are Eating Disorders?
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2023), eating disorders are mental health conditions marked by severe and persistent disturbances in eating behaviours, associated thoughts, and emotions. Eating disorders can have detrimental impacts on physical, mental, emotional, and social wellbeing.
Eating disorders are often associated with intense food and weight preoccupations, restrictive eating, binge eating, purging behaviours such as self-induced vomiting, laxative and diuretic use, and/or compulsive exercise. These symptoms can vary in occurrence and severity, as eating disorders can present differently for everyone (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Additionally, because eating disorders are still largely stigmatized, some people may feel ashamed and go to great lengths to hide their symptoms, making it challenging to recognize warning signs (Rose et al., 2022). Understanding the clusters of symptoms that characterize an eating disorder can make identifying them easier.
The causes of an eating disorder are complex and multifaceted. There is no single cause; rather, eating disorders result from a combination of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors. For individuals with a genetic predisposition, exposure to certain social pressures such as appearance standards, family influences, discrimination, or concurrent mental health challenges can trigger symptoms (Galmiche et al., 2019; Tagay et al., 2014).
Factors that may contribute to the development of an ED are broken down in the table below (National Eating Disorder Information Centre [NEDIC], 2021a):
| Factor | Description |
|---|---|
| Biological | Genetics and physiology |
| Psychological | Personality traits, emotional regulation, and other existing mental health conditions |
| Social and cultural | Family and peer influences, appearance standards, and discrimination |
For more information on Emotional Regulation see our infosheet Emotional Regulation – Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health
The following table provides a broad overview of the different types of eating disorders but is not intended to be comprehensive or used as a diagnostic tool (NEDIC, 2021b).
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Anorexia Nervosa (AN) | Restrictive eating behaviours driven by an intense fear of gaining weight or being fat that interfere with maintaining one’s biologically-appropriate body weight. People with AN may experience disturbances in how they experience their weight and shape, or difficulties recognizing the seriousness of their condition. |
| Bulimia Nervosa (BN) | Characterized by recurring episodes of binge-eating (consumption of an unusually large quantity of food in a relatively short period of time, in a way that feels out of control) followed by behaviours intended to get rid of the food consumed or compensate for food eaten to prevent weight gain. Common compensatory behaviours include self-induced vomiting, laxative use, intense exercise, and/or food restriction. Note that people with BN are often not significantly underweight. |
| Binge Eating Disorder (BED) | Recurrent episodes of binge eating accompanied by marked distress and not associated with the use of compensatory behaviours. |
| Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) | Presentations include avoidance of foods with certain characteristics (flavours, textures, or colours), and fear of eating following a highly distressing experience involving food (such as becoming physically ill after eating). A key distinction between AN and ARFID is that individuals with ARFID do not overvalue body weight or shape or experience significant body image disturbances. |
| Otherwise Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED – previously called EDNOS) | EDs in this category are characterized by behavioural patterns that do not fit the criteria for AN, BN, or BED, but still compromise health and functioning (i.e., atypical anorexia, purging disorder, night eating syndrome, etc.). |
For more information on Biologically-Appropriate Body Weight see What Is a Biologically Appropriate Weight? | Psychology Today Canada
Other informal terms you may come across that are not formally recognized as EDs by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), however, still present severe health risks are (NEDIC, 2021b):
Orthorexia“A pathological obsession with proper nutrition that is characterized by a restrictive diet, ritualized patterns of eating, and rigid avoidance of foods believed to be unhealthy or impure. Although prompted by a desire to achieve optimum health, orthorexia may lead to nutritional deficiencies, medical complications, and poor quality of life.” (Koven & Abry, 2015, p. 385) | DiabulimiaA disordered pattern of behaviour in an individual with diabetes, typically type I diabetes, wherein they purposefully restrict the insulin that they need to keep their blood sugar levels within a healthy range in order to lose weight. |
Recommendations
 | Get a baseline understanding of common eating disorder diagnoses and their components. |
| Understand the seriousness and risks to one’s health and wellbeing eating disorders pose. |