Different Types of Eating Disorders

Mentioned below are the types of eating disorders UK as recognised by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa comes into most people’s minds when they hear the term “eating disorder.” As the most well-known type of eating disorder, it is characterised by restriction of food intake in several ways. For example, an individual may limit the amount of food or calories they consume or stick to only a particular type of food, like carrot sticks. People with anorexia are generally underweight; however, it is not a diagnostic criterion. Some may exhibit all typical behaviours of this issue without significant weight loss. Others often indulge in purging behaviours (a binge-purge subtype of anorexia) which means getting rid of the food after an overeating episode, usually by self-induced vomiting. Other symptoms of anorexia include:

• Intense fear of gaining weight
• Refusal to acknowledge how low body weight can harm the body and health
• Absence of menstruation in women due to low-fat content
• Increased strain on the cardiovascular system, leading to heart damage
• Association of body weight with self-esteem and self-image

Bulimia Nervosa

Just like anorexia, bulimia tends to hit adolescents and young adults the most, specifically in women. The condition involves severe purging behaviours to reduce the number of calories consumed. This purging may occur through various compensatory behaviours, such as excessive exercise, self-induced vomiting, diuretics and laxatives, etc. It is important to remember that people with bulimia are different from the ones with binge-purge sub-type of anorexia since the former tend to maintain normal body weight while the latter is primarily underweight. Moreover, bulimics do not restrict their food intake regularly as anorexics.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Binge eating disorder was formally introduced to the world by the DSM-5 in 2015. People suffering from BED tend to lose control over their eating. As a result, they frequently consume large quantities of food in one sitting, much more than an ordinary person. However, it is different from bulimia in that no compensatory behaviour is involved. As a result, most people with BED are overweight.

Muscle Dysmorphia

Contrary to most eating disorders, muscle dysmorphia affects men more than women. Characterised by a disruptive obsession with physique and musculature, it causes an individual to fixate on acquiring the perfect body through severe food modifications.

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders

Also known as OSFED, other specified feeding or eating disorders include all other types of eating disorders that do not fit in any of the categories mentioned above. People with atypical bulimia or anorexia and other unofficial eating disorder diagnoses (described below) fall into this category.

Seven Unofficial Eating Disorders

In addition to the five official eating disorder diagnoses described above, seven additional “unofficial” types are yet to be recognised by any diagnostic manual. However, many psychologists and doctors continue using them to communicate more clearly with each other and patients. These include:

Compulsive Over Eating (COE)

COE is quite similar to BED, except that people with the former diagnosis do not binge in episodes. Instead, they are more likely to eat large quantities of food throughout the day.

Pregorexia

Pregorexia describes the urge to lose weight during pregnancy. Sometimes, the weight loss plans can get too extreme that they endanger the life of the mother and the baby. Pregorexia can lead to coronary heart disease, stroke, depression, hypertension, and low birth weight if left untreated.

Drunkorexia

Drunkorexia combines an eating disorder with alcoholism. The affected individual attempts to restrict their food intake, indulges in frequent purging to save calories, and utilises this window to drink alcohol. Without treatment, drunkorexia often leads to severe malnutrition.

Prader Willi Syndrome

Characterised by compulsive eating and consequent obesity, Prader Willi syndrome is well-rooted in genetics. As an inherited disease, it includes symptoms such as poor feeding, weak muscles, and slow development in children. It also induces an insatiable hunger in many children, putting them at a high risk of developing diabetes.

Orthorexia Nervosa

Identified by Steven Bratman, orthorexia nervosa forces a patient to become overly obsessed with clean eating, sometimes to the extent that it starts affecting their life.

Diabulimia

This occurs when someone who has diabetes uses their prescription insulin to try to induce weight loss.

Selective Eating Disorder

In simpler words, selective eating disorder describes picky eating to a debilitating level. It causes people to become so selective about their food that they only stick to one or two meals and eventually fall sick.