CPG for Eating Disorders

Annex 3. Information for patients with eating disordersand their familiesAnnex 3.1. Patient InformationEating Disorders. What should you know?This information will help you gain deeper knowledge on eating disorders and understand theimportance of becoming involved in treatment and in the recovery process. The aspectsaddressed are the definition of these disorders, their symptoms and course and recommendedtreatments based on available research results.Eating DisordersWhat are eating disorders?People with eating disorders are characterised by adopting maladaptive eating behaviours as aresponse to personal body image dissatisfaction. They frequently present distorted thoughts onweight (they feel inferior to others, and believe they are negatively judged due to their physicalappearance) and health (fat in food is harmful, it is healthy to be thin, weight can be lost quicklywithout posing any risks to health, dieting is a healthy activity, etc). People with these disorderssuffer nutritional, physical, psychological and social consequences. If left untreated, thesedisorders can be life-threatening.These eating problems can affect all people, regardless of their socio-economic or culturalsituation. Eating disorders are more common in females (90-95%), but lately there has been agrowing incidence in men. These disorders can occur at any age, but most commonly develop inadolescence due to the vital changes that take place during this time and the search for selfidentityit entails. In the past few years earlier and earlier ages of onset of eating disorders havebeen observed. It is a process that can initiate very subtly and remain initially undetected.In general, people with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) share anexcessive preoccupation with losing weight, even if they have normal weight or even if theirweight is well below the healthy standard. Food becomes the main focus of their concern andother aspects of life are gradually neglected.AN and BN differ in the way people react to food and the different physical consequencesthat result. If adequate treatment is not followed, one disorder may lead to another.What is anorexia nervosa?AN is characterised by excessive dread of becoming fat and by a distortion of body imagethat leads patients to feel and view themselves as fat when in fact they are not. They refuse tomaintain their weight within a normal range and to this end they impose dietary restrictions onthemselves to lose weight. Their self-evaluation is determined by how they see their body andCLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINE FOR EATING DISORDERS238