Though eating disorder sufferers struggle with everything from eating nothing to eating everything, only two types of disorders have official diagnoses: anorexia and bulimia. All others fall into a catch-all category known as “Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS).”

“What most people don’t realize about eating disorders is that of the nearly 10 million Americans who suffer from these conditions, more than 60 percent are diagnosed with EDNOS.

The catch-all category includes many patients who fall just one or two criteria short of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa: They haven’t stopped menstruating for three months in a row, for example. … Or they binge and purge once a week, instead of twice a week, as ‘official’ bulimics do.” [Source: The Daily Beast'

Because the EDNOS “diagnosis” is so vague, some clinicians, parents, insurance companies and patients fail to take it as seriously as they should. They figure a person diagnosed with EDNOS isn’t as sick when in fact they often have more health issues than people who are officially diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia.

Labels: diagnosis, treatment, awareness, ednos

Posted By: CRC Health