Other Eating Disorders

Although anorexia and bulimia are the most common eating disorders, here are a few other terms you might come across:

Food Avoidance Emotional Disorder (FAED):

This is a disorder where emotional problems such as anxiety and depression interfere with eating, so that the sufferer eats very little and loses a lot of weight. It can therefore be confused with anorexia and it can take time for the correct diagnosis to be made. FAED usually affects children aged between about 5 and 16. There are usually other signs of their emotional struggle that are not focused around food, and they may also exhibit problems such as problems with sleeping, phobias or extreme anxiety and other signs of depression such as tearfulness. The main factor which separates FAED from anorexia is that sufferers are generally aware that they are underweight. They often wish they could eat more and may be concerned about being too thin, for example not liking the way they look. This is very different from anorexia. Treatment for FAED therefore focuses on the emotional difficulties underlying the eating problem, and on maintaining weight within healthy levels.

EDNOS:

This stands for 'eating disorders not otherwise specified'. It is a term sometimes used to diagnose someone who has an obvious eating disorder, but does not quite fit into the criteria for any one other disorder. It is common therefore amongst children or men, or if an eating disorder is picked up early.