[Eating disorders--how to recognize and treat them]

Abstract

Eating disorders are common among adolescent girls and young women and are associated with potentially serious medical complications. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder are characterized by a serious disturbance in eating, such as restriction of intake or bingeing, as well as distress or excessive concern about body shape or body weight. The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa alone, at 0.56 percent per year, is more than 12 times as high as the mortality rate among young women in the general population. All patients with eating disorders should be evaluated and treated for medical complications of the disease at the same time that psychotherapy and nutritional counselling are undertaken.