Anorexia Nervosa:

 

  Anorexia is an eating disorder that is "characterized by an abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of weight" according to the Mayo Clinic. People with anorexia (who can be any age, any race, and any sex/gender) often think they're fat when they're not and go to extreme lengths to prevent weight gain.

 

  Symptoms of Anorexia:

 

• An intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat

• Restricting food, leading to a significantly low body weight

• Behaviors such as fasting or excessive exercise

• A distorted perception of their appearance

• Fatigue

• Dizziness or fainting

• Brittle nails

• Hair that falls out or is thin

• Osteoporosis

• Lanugo (fine hair growing on the skin to keep the body warm)

• Constipation

• A loss of periods

• Feeling cold all the time and/or easier than before

• Heart palpitations

• Wearing baggy clothes or multiple layers

• Complaining about being fat

• Reduced sex drive

• Talking about/having "safe" and "fear"/"unsafe" foods

• Insomnia

• Eroded teeth

• Having food rituals and/or rules

• Etc

 

 

 Bulimia Nervosa:

 

  Bulimia is an eating disorder where people binge (a binge is characterized as an extreme episode of eating where you feel out of control/cannot stop) and then purge by means of throwing up what they eat, excessive exercise, abusing laxatives, enemas, or diuretics. They can have anorexic tendencies and may restrict between binges.

 

  Symptoms of Bulimia:

 

• Episodes of bing eating and feeling out of control when doing so

• Fear of weight gain

• Compensatory purging behaviors such as excessive exercise, using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics, and throwing up after eating.

• Having an obsession with weight and appearance

• Fasting or restricting food/calorie intake when not binging

• Binging and purging at least once a week for three months

• A puffy face from throwing up

• Sore stomach muscles

• Swelling in the hands or feet

• Eating excessively alone or at night

 

 OSFED:

 

  OSFED, other specific feeding or eating disorder, previously known in the DSM-IV as EDNOS, eating disorder not otherwise specified, is possibly the most common and most undetected eating disorder of them all. It's basically the DSM's category to dump all the eating disorder's that don't quite meet the diagnostic criteria for anorexia, bulimia, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, binge eating disorder, or pica. The eating disorders listed under OSFED are

 

• Atypical anorexia nervosa: all the criteria for anorexia is met but the person is at a normal or overweight body weight, despite significant weight loss.

• Binge eating disorder (of low frequency and/or limited duration): all of the criteria for binge eating disorder are met, but at a lower frequency or for less than the required criteria of three months.

• Atypical Bulimia Nervosa): all the criteria for bulimia is met but binging episodes or purging behaviors occur less than once a week on average and/or for less than three months.

• Purging disorder: purging disorder is is bulimia without the binging. The person purges meals in the absence of binging.

• Night eating syndrome: this eating disorder is defined as "recurrent episodes of eating at night, such as eating after awakening from sleep or excess calorie intake after the evening meal. This eating behavior is not culturally acceptable by group norms, such as the occasional late-night munchies after a gathering. NES includes an awareness and recall of the eating, is not better explained by external influences such as changes in the individual's sleep-wake cycle, and causes significant distress and/or impairment of functioning. Though not defined specifically in DSM-5, research criteria for this diagnosis proposed adding the following criteria (1) the consumption of at least 25% of daily caloric intake after the evening meal and/or (2) evening awakenings with ingestions at least twice per week" (Wikipedia).

 

 Binge Eating Disorder:

 

  BED is where you binge on large amounts of food at once while feeling out of control and unable to stop. This is different from normal occasional overeating, such as on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Unlike bulimia, a person with BED doesn't use purging behaviors to compensate for their binging. Similar to bulimia, a person with BED is usually overweight or obese but may be at a normal weight.

 

  According to the Mayo Clinic, here are symptoms of BED:

 

• Eating unusually large amounts of food in a specific amount of time, such as over a two-hour period

• Feeling that your eating behavior is out of control

• Eating even when you're full or not hungry

• Eating rapidly during binge episodes

• Eating until you're uncomfortably full

• Frequently eating alone or in secret

• Feeling depressed, disgusted, ashamed, guilty or upset about your eating

• Frequently dieting, possibly without weight loss

 

 Avoiding/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID):

 

  ARFID is a feeding and eating disorder, previously known as selective eating disorder, where "the consumption of certain foods is limited based on the food's appearance, smell, taste, texture, brand, presentation, or a past negative experience with the food" according to Wikipedia.

 

  In the DSM-5 the criteria is defined as a:

 

• Disturbance in eating or feeding, as evidenced by one or more of:

  • Substantial weight loss (or, in children, absence of expected weight gain)

  • Nutritional deficiency

  • Dependence on a feeding tube or dietary supplements

  • Significant psychosocial interference

• Disturbance not due to unavailability of food, or to observation of cultural norms

• Disturbance not due to anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, and no evidence of disturbance in experience of body shape or weight

• Disturbance not better explained by another medical condition or mental disorder, or when occurring concurrently with another condition, the disturbance exceeds what is normally caused by that condition

 

  Symptoms of ARFID:

 

  According to Wikipedia:

 

  "People with ARFID have an inability to eat certain foods. Safe" foods may be limited to certain food types and even specific brands. In some cases, individuals with the condition will exclude whole food groups, such as fruits or vegetables. Sometimes excluded foods can be refused based on color. Some may only like very hot or very cold foods, very crunchy or hard-to-chew foods, or very soft foods, or avoid sauces.

 

  Most people with ARFID will still maintain a healthy or typical body weight. There are no specific outward appearances associated with ARFID. Sufferers   can experience physical gastrointestinal reactions to adverse foods such as retching, vomiting or gagging. Some studies have identified symptoms of social avoidance due to their eating habits. Most, however, would change their eating habits if they could."