Anorexia, one of the main forms of disordered eating, has the highest fatality rate of any psychiatric disorder. The need for proper criteria to support early identification and treatment of eating disorders is imperative. Currently, the only eating disorders that are officially recognized and formally defined by the DSM-IV are anorexia nervosa and bulimia; binge eating disorder is mentioned only in the appendix.
According to the study, however, the most frequent diagnoses for eating disorders were "eating disorder NOS" (NOS stands for "not otherwise specified" and is used as a catch-all when a behavior doesn't fit in a formally recognized category) and binge eating disorder. These findings support the need for more comprehensive coverage of eating disorders in the DSM.
(Source: ScienceDaily.com)
Posted By: jgarcia