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Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa

Diagnostic Criteria

  1. Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements, leading to a significantly low body weight in the context of age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health. Significantly low weight is defined as a weight that is less than minimally normal or, for children and adolescents, less than that minimally expected.

  2. Intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat, or persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, even though at a significantly low weight.

  3. Disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body weight.

Coding note: The ICD-10-CM code depends on the subtype (see below).

Specify whether:

  • F50.01 Restricting type: During the last 3 months, the individual has not engaged in recurrent episodes of binge-eating or purging behavior (i.e., self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas). This subtype describes presentations in which weight loss is accomplished primarily through dieting, fasting, and/or excessive exercise.

  • F50.02 Binge-eating/purging type: During the last 3 months, the individual has engaged in recurrent episodes of binge-eating or purging behavior (i.e., self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas).

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Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

Diagnostic Criteria

(F50.82)

  1. An eating or feeding disturbance (e.g., apparent lack of interest in eating or food; avoidance based on the sensory characteristics of food; concern about aversive consequences of eating) associated with one (or more) of the following:

    1. Significant weight loss (or failure to achieve expected weight gain or faltering growth in children).

    2. Significant nutritional deficiency.

    3. Dependence on enteral feeding or oral nutritional supplements.

    4. Marked interference with psychosocial functioning.

  2. The disturbance is not better explained by lack of available food or by an associated culturally sanctioned practice.

  3. The eating disturbance does not occur exclusively during the course of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, and there is no evidence of a disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced.

  4. The eating disturbance is not attributable to a concurrent medical condition or not better explained by another mental disorder. When the eating disturbance occurs in the context of another condition or disorder, the severity of the eating disturbance exceeds that routinely associated with the condition or disorder and warrants additional clinical attention.

Specify if:

  • In remission: After full criteria for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder were previously met, the criteria have not been met for a sustained period of time.

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Binge-Eating Disorder

Diagnostic Criteria

(F50.81)

  1. Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:

    1. Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than what most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances.

    2. A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating).

  2. The binge-eating episodes are associated with three (or more) of the following:

    1. Eating much more rapidly than normal.

    2. Eating until feeling uncomfortably full.

    3. Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.

    4. Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating.

    5. Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterward.

  3. Marked distress regarding binge eating is present.

  4. The binge eating occurs, on average, at least once a week for 3 months.

  5. The binge eating is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behavior as in bulimia nervosa and does not occur exclusively during the course of bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa.

 

Specify current severity:

The minimum level of severity is based on the frequency of episodes of binge eating (see below). The level of severity may be increased to reflect other symptoms and the degree of functional disability.

  • Mild: 1–3 binge-eating episodes per week.

  • Moderate: 4–7 binge-eating episodes per week.

  • Severe: 8–13 binge-eating episodes per week.

  • Extreme: 14 or more binge-eating episodes per week.

DSM-5 Library

Bulimia Nervosa

Diagnostic Criteria

(F50.2)

  1. Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:

    1. Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than what most individuals would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances.

    2. A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating).

  2. Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviors in order to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting; misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other medications; fasting; or excessive exercise.

  3. The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors both occur, on average, at least once a week for 3 months.

  4. Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight.

  5. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during episodes of anorexia nervosa.

 

Specify current severity:

The minimum level of severity is based on the frequency of inappropriate compensatory behaviors (see below). The level of severity may be increased to reflect other symptoms and the degree of functional disability.

  • Mild: An average of 1–3 episodes of inappropriate compensatory behaviors per week.

  • Moderate: An average of 4–7 episodes of inappropriate compensatory behaviors per week.

  • Severe: An average of 8–13 episodes of inappropriate compensatory behaviors per week.

  • Extreme: An average of 14 or more episodes of inappropriate compensatory behaviors per week.

DSM-5 Library