ABSTRACT
Eating disorders are characterized by a severe disorder in eating behavior. They have been removed from the category of disorders first diagnosed in infancy, childhood and adolescence, where they were included in the previous versions of the DSM-IV (American Pyschiatric Association, 1994), and are now included in a specific diagnostic category. Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized by a refusal to mantain the body weight, associated with an extreme fear of becoming fat. Bulimia nervosa (BN) is characterized by repeated episodes of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, or the use of laxatives and diuretics, or excessive exercise. Binge-eating disorder (BED), previously included in the eating disorders not otherwise specified (NOS), has more recently been considered a specific psychiatric diagnosis. It is characterized by uncontrolled binge eating without compensatory behaviors, both in obese and, more rarely, in non-obese individuals. When an eating disorder fails to meet diagnostic criteria for AN, BN, or BED, an eating disorder NOS is diagnosed. Among the clinical situations included in this category are anorexic behavior without amenorrhea or severe weight loss, with the current weight still in the normal range, bulimic behavior, with a low frequency of episodes (fewer than two per week for at least 3 months), and the compensatory behaviors (vomiting, exercise, laxatives) after a small amount of food has been eaten.
