Family Matters
Lorri Antosz Benson
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Anorexia Nervosa
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Significant weight loss (15% below the normal weight for height).
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Refusal to maintain a normal weight for one’s height, body type, age, and activity level.
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Continual dieting despite being underweight.
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Fear of gaining weight and becoming fat.
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Inaccurate perception of one’s body, such as feeling fat despite being underweight.
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Amenorrhea (loss of menstrual period) in females.
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Compulsive exercise.
Bulimia Nervosa
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Frequent binges, or the uncontrolled, impulsive consumption of a large amount of food in a short period of time.
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Purging behaviors following binges including self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives, diuretics, or diet pills, fasting, excessive exercise.
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Preoccupation with food and weight.
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Feelings of shame about the binging and purging.
Binge Eating Disorder
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Frequent binges without purging behaviors.
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Feelings of shame and self-hatred about the bingeing.
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Often accompanied by excessive weight gain and obesity.
Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)
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Other disordered eating patterns don’t fit into the other types of eating disorders or don’t have all of the characteristics of a full-fledged eating disorder.
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Chewing food and spitting it out without swallowing.