What Are Eating Disorders? Types, Signs, and Treatment

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions marked by severe disturbances in eating behavior. While it’s common to occasionally have concerns about your appearance or eating habits, a person struggling with an eating disorder may experience significant difficulties with their thoughts and behaviors related to food, eating, or body weight and shape.¹

Eating disorders affect people of any age, race, ethnicity, body weight, or sex. Even someone who looks healthy can be dealing with a serious eating disorder.¹

Eating-related problems can exist on a spectrum, from disordered eating patterns that fall short of a clinical diagnosis to several distinct diagnosable conditions, each with its own signs and treatment path.¹ With the right care, recovery from an eating disorder is possible.

What Are Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders are mental health conditions that involve persistent disturbances in how a person eats, such as restricting food, binge eating, purging, or avoiding certain foods. Eating disorders are not lifestyle choices, and these behaviors can significantly harm a person’s physical and mental health, as well as day-to-day functioning.²

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) classifies these conditions as feeding and eating disorders. This category includes anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), pica, rumination disorder, other specified feeding and eating disorder (OSFED), and unspecified feeding or eating disorder (UFED).²

Types of Eating Disorders

Many eating disorders share some common threads, like an intense focus on food, weight, or body shape, but each subtype follows its own diagnostic pattern and carries its own health risks. The DSM-5 recognizes eight distinct feeding and eating disorder diagnoses, each of which calls for a different approach to treatment.²

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa involves restricting food intake to the point of significantly low body weight, driven by an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image.³ Even when dangerously underweight, a person with anorexia nervosa may see themselves as overweight and have trouble recognizing how serious their low body weight has become.¹

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia nervosa involves repeated episodes of eating a large amount of food in a short period with a sense of loss of control, followed by behaviors meant to prevent weight gain, such as forced vomiting, laxative misuse, fasting, or excessive exercise.⁴ Because a person with bulimia nervosa can maintain an average body weight or even be above average weight, the seriousness of the condition may not be apparent from their appearance, and the condition itself may sometimes be missed altogether.¹

Binge Eating Disorder

Binge eating disorder involves regularly eating unusually large amounts of food while feeling a loss of control, without the purging or other compensatory behaviors seen in bulimia nervosa.⁵ It's the most common eating disorder overall, and the difference in prevalence between women and men is smaller than it is for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. It's also seen across a broader range of adult ages.¹

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) involves limiting the amount or variety of food a person eats, driven by sensory sensitivities, fear of consequences like choking, or low interest in food, rather than by concerns about weight or body shape.⁶ ARFID most often begins in childhood but can persist into adulthood. ARFID frequently leads to being underweight and missing key nutrients.⁶

Pica

Pica involves eating non-food substances, such as dirt, chalk, paper, or ice, for at least a month, in a way that isn't part of a cultural practice or developmentally expected behavior.⁷ It's especially common in children, pregnant women, and people with intellectual disabilities. Pica can lead to serious complications like intestinal blockages, poisoning, or nutritional deficiencies.⁷

Rumination Disorder

Rumination disorder involves repeatedly bringing up recently swallowed food, then re-chewing, re-swallowing, or spitting it out. This typically happens within 30 minutes of eating.² The condition can lead to weight loss and malnutrition, as well as other health complications.²

OSFED

Other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) describes eating disorder symptoms that cause significant distress or interfere with daily functioning but don’t meet the full criteria for any specific feeding or eating disorder.⁸ With OSFED, the clinician identifies why the symptoms don’t meet those criteria. Examples include atypical anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder of limited frequency or duration, purging disorder, and night eating syndrome.⁹

Unspecified Feeding or Eating Disorder (UFED)

Unspecified feeding or eating disorder (UFED) is diagnosed when someone has symptoms of an eating disorder that cause significant distress or interfere with daily life but don’t meet the full criteria for a specific feeding or eating disorder, and the clinician does not specify why. UFED may be used when a more specific diagnosis can’t yet be made, such as during an emergency room visit.⁹

Disordered Eating vs. Eating Disorders

Not every unhealthy pattern around food rises to the level of a diagnosable eating disorder. Disordered eating refers to a spectrum of problematic attitudes and behaviors around food, weight, shape, and appearance.¹⁰

According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), the distinction between disordered eating vs. eating disorders is whether a person’s symptoms meet established diagnostic criteria, including thresholds related to their frequency, duration, severity, and psychological impact.¹⁰

Disordered eating behaviors can include skipping meals, cutting out certain foods or entire food groups, or exercising to compensate for eating. Even when they don't meet the criteria for an eating disorder, these patterns can still cause distress and interfere with day-to-day functioning.¹⁰

Who Gets Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders can affect people of any age, race, ethnicity, body weight, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and someone who appears healthy can still be seriously ill.¹

Onset most often occurs during adolescence or young adulthood, but eating disorders can develop at any point in life. Compared with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder has a smaller difference in prevalence between women and men, and is seen across a broader range of adult ages.²

Research also suggests that LGBTQIA+ people experience higher rates of eating disorder symptoms and body image concerns compared with heterosexual people.¹¹ Gay and bisexual men, for example, have been found to report greater body dissatisfaction and disordered eating than heterosexual men, while research among transgender and gender-nonbinary people has linked internalized transphobia with greater eating disorder symptoms.¹¹

These findings underscore the importance of recognizing that eating disorders can affect people across sexual orientations and gender identities, including those who may not fit common stereotypes of someone with an eating disorder.

Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders can involve very different eating behaviors, thoughts, and physical symptoms depending on the type of disorder. There isn't one set of signs that applies to everyone, and some people may have few outward signs even when an eating disorder is seriously affecting their health or daily life.

Possible warning signs of an eating disorder can include:⁹

• Significant changes in eating patterns, such as restricting food, skipping meals, eating unusually large amounts of food, or following increasingly rigid food rules.
• Persistent concerns about food, eating, weight, or body shape.
• Avoiding certain foods or food groups, which may be related to weight or body-image concerns, fear of negative consequences from eating, or characteristics of the food itself.
• Eating in secret or avoiding meals and other situations involving food.
• Behaviors intended to compensate for eating, such as self-induced vomiting, laxative misuse, fasting, or excessive exercise.
• Noticeable weight changes, although eating disorders can occur at any body weight and may not cause an obvious change in appearance.
• Emotional or behavioral changes, such as distress around meals, guilt or shame related to eating, or withdrawing from friends, family, and usual activities.
• Physical symptoms that may accompany inadequate nutrition or other eating disorder behaviors, such as fatigue, dizziness, feeling unusually cold, constipation, bloating, or abdominal discomfort.

The specific signs and symptoms vary by eating disorder, and only a qualified healthcare professional can diagnose an eating disorder. However, being aware of potential warning signs can help you recognize when you or someone you care about may benefit from an evaluation or additional support.

Causes and Risk Factors

There isn't a single cause of eating disorders. Instead, research suggests they develop through a complex combination of biological, psychological, developmental, environmental, and sociocultural factors.² A person may have several risk factors without developing an eating disorder, and the factors involved can differ from person to person.²

• Biological factors: Genetics and neurobiology can contribute to eating disorder risk. Twin and adoption studies support a hereditary component, while research has also implicated brain systems involving neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which play roles in appetite, mood, and reward.^2,11
• Psychological factors: Certain traits, including perfectionism, impulsivity, obsessive-compulsiveness, and difficulty managing negative emotions, are associated with eating disorders.^2,10 There is also a close relationship between anxiety and disordered eating, and mental health conditions such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), substance use disorder (SUD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly co-occur with disordered eating and eating disorders.¹⁰
• Developmental and environmental factors: Difficult or traumatic experiences can also contribute to risk. Research has linked experiences such as childhood abuse, bullying, discrimination, neglect, loss, and other traumatic events with disordered eating and eating disorders.^2,10 For some people, changing their eating or body may become a way of coping with distress or trying to regain a sense of control.¹⁰
• Sociocultural factors: Cultural pressure to achieve a certain body shape or weight can contribute to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Exposure to idealized bodies, dieting and weight-loss messaging, social media, and weight-based stigma may all influence a person's relationship with food and their body.^2,10

How Eating Disorders Affect Daily Life

Eating disorders can take a real toll on both body and mind. Physically, they can damage the heart, weaken bones, disrupt hormones, and in severe cases lead to organ failure.¹ Anorexia nervosa carries one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric illness, with deaths resulting from medical complications, substance use, and suicide. Suicide alone is estimated to account for about 25% of deaths associated with the condition.³

Emotionally, eating disorders often coexist with anxiety, depression, and substance use disorder (SUD), and they can strain relationships, school or work performance, and day-to-day functioning.¹

The encouraging news is that eating disorders can be treated successfully, and the sooner someone gets support, the better their outcomes tend to be.¹

Treatment for Eating Disorders

Treatment for eating disorders is typically tailored to the individual and may include psychotherapy, nutrition counseling, medical care and monitoring, and medication.^1,2 Early detection and treatment are important for recovery.^1,2

Psychotherapy can help people address thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to eating.¹ Approaches may vary depending on the eating disorder and a person’s age and needs. For example, enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-E) is commonly used to treat several eating disorders, while family-based treatment (FBT) can be particularly helpful for children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa.²

Nutritional counseling and medical monitoring can help address nutritional needs, physical complications, and overall well-being.¹ Medications may also be used to treat symptoms of some eating disorders, including bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder, or co-occurring conditions such as anxiety or depression.¹ There are currently no medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat anorexia nervosa or ARFID.¹

The right combination of eating disorder treatment options depends on the specific eating disorder, the severity of symptoms, and a person’s individual needs.^1,2 People with severe eating disorders may require a higher level of care, such as hospital or residential treatment.¹

How to Help Someone With an Eating Disorder

If someone you love is showing signs of an eating disorder, you don't need to have all the answers before saying something. A simple, caring conversation that focuses on what you've noticed and how much you care, without criticizing their eating habits, weight, or appearance, can be a good place to start.

Avoid comments about appearance or weight, even ones meant as compliments, since they can be unhelpful or distressing for someone struggling with an eating disorder. Learning how to help someone with an eating disorder often comes down to consistency, patience, and encouraging professional support rather than trying to manage the situation alone.

Recovery isn't linear, and your steady support over the long run matters more than getting any single conversation right.

Find Treatment for Eating Disorders

Eating disorder recovery is possible, and you don't need to have a name for what you or someone you love is experiencing before seeking help.

If you're ready to take the next step, you can find an eating disorder treatment center that matches your needs, whether that means outpatient support or a more intensive program.

A qualified treatment team can assess your symptoms, determine an appropriate diagnosis and level of care, and help you begin the path toward recovery.