Understanding EDs

Chelsea Kronengold of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) explains the definitions and signs of common EDS

Anorexia:

One of the better-known eating disorders, anorexia is primarily characterised by self-starvation. The main symptoms include eating too little, drastic weight loss, a fear of gaining weight and a fixation on size.

Bulimia:

Bulimia often involves a cycle of binge eating, which is then counteracted by behaviours aimed at preventing weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting.

Binge eating disorder (BED):

If you have BED, you may eat a much larger amount of food than normal in a short window of time and find yourself trapped in a dieting and bingeing cycle.

Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID):

This refers to someone limiting the amount and types of food they consume. Normally, the individual won’t feel distress about their body shape or size, but will instead be uninterested in eating due to sensory issues or fear of other consequences (like choking).

Orthorexia:

Orthorexia is described as an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. It’s not officially recognised as an eating disorder, and without formal diagnostic criteria, it’s difficult to understand whether it’s a standalone condition, a type of existing eating disorder like anorexia, or a form of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED):

This term refers to any kind of feeding or eating disorder that causes the individual distress or impairment, but does not meet the criteria for the eating disorders listed above. Examples include purging disorder and night eating syndrome.