Eating Disorders

Disordered eating (DE) refers to a wide spectrum of maladaptive behaviors and attitudes about weight, body image, and food. At one end, it may [Page 400]be an unintentional caloric restriction, with fewer calories consumed than required for daily expenditure, thus leading to mild weight loss, slight hormonal disturbances, and a decline in sports performance. At the other end, DE may involve extreme body image delusion and life-threatening behaviors that meet the criteria for psychological diagnosis of an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.