What is EDNOS and disordered eating

Eating disorder not otherwise specified

Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) refers to any kind of eating pattern that is "disordered" or irrational, but which doesn't fit specific guidelines for other types. For instance:

Someone who meets all the criteria for anorexia nervosa but continues to have normal menstrual cycles, or who can maintain weight in the "normal" range
A person who meets all the criteria for bulimia nervosa, but who has been doing it for less than three months or less often than twice weekly
There is no bingeing but there is purging, laxative use, excessive exercise, or other behaviors after eating small amounts of food
Continued chewing and spitting out large amounts of food without swallowing
Someone who binges and purges, but not in reaction to her perception of body shape

Binge-eating disorder is officially an EDNOS. The emotional and physical symptoms of EDNOS conditions are similar to those of the more "standard" eating disorders, with some variations. One is "night eating syndrome," where a person does most of his or her eating at the evening meal and later, into the night, when the desire to eat often interrupts sleep. With all those definitions and information, is there an easy way to understand eating disorders? If your focus is on eating or not eating, and it persists when it makes no logical sense - and causes more problems than it solves - you may have a problem.

Disordered eating

All of the above eating disorders fall under the broad category of disordered eating. In a culture where the media urge us to cook and eat rich foods and offer us "sure thing" diets; where we worry about obese children but warn against early dieting - we could say that our society's view of food and weight is "disordered." This may be so common that it's hard to recognize it in an individual. But disordered eating can get in the way of daily life when a person's attitudes about food, weight, and body size lead to very rigid eating and exercise habits that make life painful.

Disordered eating may begin as a way to lose a few pounds or get in shape, but these behaviors can get out of control, become obsessions, and may even turn into an eating disorder. When you see someone who seems to pay too much attention to weighing, calorie-counting, or exercise, he or she may be dealing with disordered eating - and missing out on some of the more satisfying parts of life.

Do any of those descriptions sound familiar? Eating-disorder specialists point out that focusing on a specific diagnosis can be misleading - it's too easy to think, "Well, I don't have that one symptom . . . so I must not have a disorder." A simpler rule of thumb to evaluate a person with food-focused disorders is just to ask, "Are you thinking about weight, food, and calories, too much? Are you engaging in unhealthy behaviors to control your weight?"

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7. How eating disorders affect couples
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