Additional Feeding and Eating Disorders
This diagnostic category includes eating disorders or eating behavior distortions that cause distress or interfere with familial, social, or occupational functioning, but not those in other categories. This is sometimes the case because the frequency of the behavior does not satisfy the diagnostic threshold (such as the weight criteria for anorexia nervosa or binge behavior in bulimia or binge eating disorder). The specific eating disorder “atypical anorexia nervosa” is an example. Individuals in this category may have lost a significant amount of weight, and their behaviors and dread of fatness are consistent with anorexia nervosa, but their BMI does not indicate that they are underweight because their initial weight is above average.
People who lose a large amount of weight abruptly through extreme weight loss behaviors may be at a high risk for medical complications, even if they appear normal or overweight.
In addition to the six eating disorders outlined above, there are additional eating disorders that are less well-known or uncommon. There are three primary categories:
People with purging disorder frequently use purging behaviors, such as regurgitation, diuretics, laxatives, and excessive exercise, to control their weight or physique. They do not, however, overeat.
Night eating syndrome – Those affected by this condition eat excessively upon awakening from slumber.
Other specified nutrition or eating conditions (OSFED). This category comprises conditions that share similarities with eating disorders but cannot be classified into the categories listed above.
Orthorexia is a condition that may be categorized as OSFED. The current DSM does not recognize orthorexia as a distinct eating disorder, despite the fact that it is increasingly discussed in the media and in scientific studies.
People with orthorexia are typically preoccupied with healthy eating to the point where it interferes with their daily activities. People with this condition may eliminate entire food categories out of concern for their health. Extreme weight loss, malnutrition, the inability to consume outside the home, and emotional distress may result.
Patients with orthorexia rarely concentrate on weight loss. The degree to which they adhere to their self-imposed dietary restrictions determines the success of their diets.
