Overview of Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is a very serious eating disorder that is characterized by a severely reduced caloric intake, fear of weight gain, and the inability to see one's low body weight as the serious issue that it is. Below I have included the official criteria for anorexia, according to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
Diagnostic Criteria
- Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements leading to a significantly low body weight
- Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, or persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, even though at a significantly low weight
- Disturbance in the way one experiences one's body weight or shape
- body weight or shape strongly influences self-evaluation
- persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body weight
Previous criteria for anorexia mandated that the patient's weight dip under 85% of a healthy body weight for the individual's age/height/gender, but this is no longer required for diagnosis.
Additionally, previous criteria required that the patient experience a loss of menstrual periods, but this criterion was eliminated since it excluded men from being diagnosed with anorexia.
Subtypes of Anorexia Nervosa
- Restricting type -- more common; behavior primarily involves reducing one's food intake, maintaining a low caloric intake, and sticking to strict rules involving food consumption
- Binge-eating/purging type -- less common; behavior includes restricting one's intake and also using purging, laxatives, or exercise (often in response to eating significantly large quantities of food)
You may think that anorexia binge/purge sounds like bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by binging (eating significantly large amounts of food) and purging (compensating for food by using self-induced vomiting, laxatives, or exercise), but there are a few differences.
The diagnostic criteria for bulimia is from the DSM-5, and the information on anorexia binge/purge has been provided by Dr. Cara Bohon, the Director of Stanford's Outpatient Eating Disorder Clinic.