ABSTRACT
Eating disorders are psychophysiological disturbances characterized by abnormalities in affects, cognitions, and behaviors regarding food intake and body image. While predominantly affecting adolescent and young adult women, these illnesses affect individuals of both sexes and a wide range ofages. Eating disorders are also found across the spectrum of weights, from the emaciated individual with anorexia nervosa to the severely obese patient with binge eating disorder. Left untreated, eating disorders can result in severe functional disability, or even death, in individuals at an otherwise healthy time of life.
