To the uninformed, the terms "healthy eating" and "eating disorder" sound like opposites. But as those who are familiar with orthorexia nervosa are well aware, it is possible for a dedication to healthy eating to morph into an obsession -- and a form of disordered eating.

In a Feb. 12 article on the website of Time magazine, writer Bonnie Rochman explored the scourge of orthorexia, and the arguments in favor of its inclusion as a separate disorder in the upcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:

When [Kristie] Rutzel first sought help for anemia and osteopenia, a precursor of osteoporosis triggered by her avoidance of calcium, her doctor in upstate New York, where she attended college, had never heard of orthorexia.

"You should be trying to eat healthy," she remembers him telling her. He couldn't quite grasp that he was talking to a health nut who believed there were few truly healthy foods she felt were safe to eat.

Her condition was eventually identified as anorexia, a diagnosis that organizations like the Washington-based Eating Disorders Coalition think is a mistake.

The group, which represents more than 35 eating-disorder organizations in the U.S., wants orthorexia to have a separate entry in the bible of psychiatric illness, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

The American Psychiatric Association, which publishes the DSM, is currently accepting input on proposed changes to the manual. DSM-V is slated to be released in 2013.

Labels: orthorexia, dsm-v

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

In the run-up to the May 2013 publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), the American Psychiatric Association has posted a draft of the new manual on the website www.DSM5.org., and is inviting feedback from the public.

Among the changes is one that will be of particular interest to those who treat or have been affected by eating disorders: Binge eating disorder is scheduled to be classified as a separate disorder in the DSM-V.

In the current edition (DSM-IV, which was published in 1994), eating disorders are represented in three categories:

• Anorexia Nervosa
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified

In the "rationale" section of the DSM5 website, APA notes that "Binge Eating Disorder is one of the disorders in the DSM-IV appendix. It is recommended that it be formally included as a disorder in DSM-5."

Labels: binge eating, dsm-v

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Members of the American Psychiatric Association are now considering whether to include "binge eating disorder" in the next edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V, which is due to be published in May 2012)

Some psychiatrists believe that binge eating disorder is similar to anorexia and bulimia, in that it is a full- fledged, definable eating disorder with a set of unique symptoms and a pattern of progression that responds predictably to treatment.

According to one study from Harvard University, about 3.5 percent of women and 2 percent of men are binge eaters or among those who eat large quantities of food in one sitting and then feel shame and regret afterward. Some psychologists, such as Dr. Terry Wilson of Rutgers University, say they believe that the description of the disorder should also include a preoccupation with size and weight.

Psychotherapy can help patients explore childhood traumas or unseen motives that cause the disorder, and teach them to recognize situations and feelings that trigger binges. The aim of such therapy would not necessarily be to achieve weight loss but to help the person stop binge eating.

Labels: binge eating, dsm-v

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

A joint study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital has found that diagnostic criteria for eating disorders may be too strict. As a result, many of the sickest patients may not get properly diagnosed, or may not get the help they need.

“’There’s mounting evidence that we should reconsider the EDNOS [eating disorder not otherwise specified] categorization for young people,’ said Rebecka Peebles, MD, the study’s primary author. The EDNOS diagnosis has become a ‘mosh pit,’ lumping dissimilar patients into a single category that gets poor recognition from clinicians and health insurers.” (Source: Science Daily)

The research team examined medical records of 1,310 patients that were treated for anorexia. Nearly two-thirds of the patients had been diagnosed with EDNOS because they didn’t meet specific anorexia or bulimia criteria. However, 60 percent of the EDNOS patients were sick enough to require hospitalization, and they were generally sicker than patients who had been diagnosed with full-blown anorexia or bulimia.

 

Labels: dsm-v, endos

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments