Eating Disorders

Abstract

Eating disorders can profoundly affect the individual and family unit. Changes in the individual include disturbances in body perception, organ damage, and increased risk factors leading to ill-health in later years. There is thus a fundamental requirement to adequately diagnose, treat and manage those individuals with eating disorders which the American Psychiatric Association have recently categorized (DSM-5) into Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, and Other Specified- and Unspecified-Feeding or Eating Disorders. The aim of this reference work is to describe, in one comprehensive resource, the complex relationships between eating disorders, diet, and nutrition. In this regard eating disorders are regarded as psychiatric conditions though there are some eating disorders that have a genetic basis. Genetic influences will also include polymorphisms. It will provide a framework to unravel the complex links between eating disorders and health-related outcomes and provide practical and useful information for diagnosis and treatment. The volume will also address macronutrients, micronutrients, pharmacology, psychology, genetics, tissue and organ damage, appetite and biochemistry, as well as the effect of eating disorders on family and community. The material will enhance the knowledge-base of dietitians, nutritionists, psychiatrists and behavioral scientists, health care workers, physicians, educationalists, and all those involved in diagnosing and treating eating disorders.