Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are potentially life-threatening psychiatric illnesses commonly accompanied by serious medical problems. They typically appear during adolescence or early adulthood, a time when young people are heading to college or interviewing for a first job. Many people recover fully from
eating disorders, but others become chronically ill, and symptoms can continue into middle age and beyond.

Written by leading authorities in eating disorders research and treatment, Eating Disorders: What Everyone Needs to Know(R) answers common questions about eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, as well as a newly described condition,
avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Practical yet authoritative, the book defines the eating disorders, explains what we know about them based on the latest science, and describes how treatment works. Importantly, the book dispels common myths about eating disorders, such as the
notion that they occur only amongst the affluent, that they affect only girls and women, or that they simply result from environmental factors such as the fashion industry and society's obsession with thinness. In reality, as the book explains, there is substantial evidence that eating disorders are
brain-based illnesses that do not discriminate, and that they have been around for a very long time. Eating Disorders: What Everyone Needs to Know(R) is essential reading for those seeking authoritative and current information about these often misunderstood illnesses.

""The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, and is written with input from a large number of clinical experts-not just psychiatrists-in different specialty areas related to mental health. The DSM describes the signs and symptoms of all psychiatric conditions, and provides criteria to guide treatment providers in deciding whether an individual has a recognized mental disorder. The DSM has been in use since 1952, and the current, fifth edition, DSM-5, was published in 2013. Each revision to the DSM has been aimed at improving the usefulness of the manual. Eating disorders are considered psychiatric illnesses and are therefore listed in DSM-5. Eating disorders are listed in a section called Feeding and Eating Disorders. But, as a shorthand, we are going to refer to all the disorders in this section of DSM-5 as eating disorders. The diagnostic criteria for eating disorders in DSM-5 are different from what came before, in DSM-IV; in the DSM-5, changes were made that aimed to clarify some items, and to make the criteria relevant to all groups of patients (for example, adolescents as well as adults, males as well as females). ""--

"Collectively, Walsh, Attia and Glasofer have been at the cutting edge of eating disorders treatment and research for several decades now. These authors are extraordinarily well placed to provide a wide ranging and informative text on everything someone with an eating disorder, or someone who cares
for a loved one with an eating disorder ought to know. Ultimately, this text serves as the perfect psychoeducational volume to empower sufferers and their carers to take the necessary step(s) in the recovery process." --Daniel Le Grange, PhD, Benioff UCSF Professor in Children's Health, Department
of Psychiatry, UCSF, CA, and Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

"Written by a team of top clinician-researchers, this outstanding practical guide covers what eating disorders are and are not and what we know and don't know about them. It delivers a clear and concise road map to the most effective evidence-based treatments and to finding help for you or your
loved one." --Angela S. Guarda, MD, Stephen and Jean Robinson Associate Professor of Eating Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

"Written by an internationally acclaimed team of clinical researchers, this book is a comprehensive update on the science of eating disorder and its relevance for clinical care for people with an eating disorder. This book is a must read resource for anyone who wants to gain an accurate
understanding of eating disorders: what they are, what can be done to prevent them, and how best to support people who experience an eating disorders or have a loved one who is affected." --Ruth Striegel Weissman, Dipl Psych, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Eating Disorders