Though anorexia and bulimia are the most well-known eating disorders, the majority of sufferers fit into another category. As many as 60 percent of eating disorder patients are diagnosed as having an eating disorder “not otherwise specified” (EDNOS).

“This group is so vast, and the causes within it so diverse, that many in the field believe it creates more problems than it does solutions in terms of treating patients and understanding the syndromes. Patients lumped into this unspecified group can also have misperceptions about their condition, thinking it is not as serious as anorexia or bulimia.” [Source: MSNBC]

Physicians and psychiatrists are trying to solve the problem by revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is due to be published in 2013. Often called “the psychiatric bible”, the DSM is the tool used to diagnose most mental health issues.

Proposed revisions to eating disorder-related diagnoses include broadening the criteria for anorexia and bulimia, and separating out some more commonly-known conditions such as binge eating into their own categories.

Labels: dsm-iv, diagnosis, ednos

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton