Eating Disorders Glossary

Eating Disorders Glossary

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  • F.E.A.S.T.'s Eating Disorders Glossary
  • 1. Types of disorders and disturbances
    • Anorexia Nervosa
    • Appetite loss secondary to depression
    • Binge eating disorder (BED)
    • Binge eating episodes
    • Bulimia nervosa (BN)
    • Compensatory Behaviors
    • Compulsive or compensatory exercise
    • Compulsive Overeating
    • Diabulimia
    • Disordered Eating
    • Eating disorder
    • Eating Disorder not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)
    • Extreme exercising
    • Feeding Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood
    • Female Athlete Triad
    • Food avoidance emotional disorder (FAED)
    • Food refusal
    • Functional dysphagia
    • Hyperphagia
    • Marasmus
    • Muscle dysmorphia (also called Reverse anorexia or Bigorexia)
    • Night Eating Syndrome (NES)
    • Orthorexia
    • PANDAS
    • Pathorexia
    • Pervasive refusal syndrome
    • Pica
    • Picky eating
    • Prader Willi syndrome (PWS)
    • Purging disorder
    • Restrictive eating
    • Rumination disorder
    • Selective eating
  • 2. Symptoms and behaviors
    • Acting Out: (Verbally-Physically-Behaviorally)
    • Amenorrhea
    • Anger
    • Anorexic behavior/temperament
    • Anorexic debate
    • Anorexic identity
    • Anorexic voice
    • Anosognosia/anosognosic
    • Appetite
    • Appetite Suppressants
    • Body checking
    • Calorie
    • Calorie counting
    • Chewing & Spitting (Chew-spit)
    • Cognitive distortions
    • Denial
    • Dishonesty
    • Eating rituals
    • Environmental triggers
    • Fear of fatness
    • Food Preoccupation
    • Forbidden foods
    • General Symptoms of Eating Disorders
    • Irritability
    • Ketosis
    • Lactose intolerance
    • Lanugo
    • Perfectionism
    • Perseveration
    • Prevalence of Eating Disorders
    • Purge, purging
    • Restriction, restricting
    • Vegan
    • Vegetarian, vegetarianism
  • 3. Treatment & medical management
    • Age of onset
    • Anemia
    • Azotemia
    • Barrett's Esophagus
    • Biochemical Imbalance
    • Blind Weights or blind weigh-In
    • Body Fat Percentage
    • Body image
    • Body image distortion
    • Body Mass Index (BMI)
    • Bone density scan
    • Bone marrow hypoplasia
    • Bradycardia
    • Calcium
    • Callused fingers
    • Carbohydrates ("carbs")
    • Cardiac arrhythmias (also called dysrhythmia or palpitations)
    • Cerebral atrophy
    • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
    • Constipation
    • Continuum of Care [continuity of care]
    • Cramps, tetany
    • Day Treatment, Day Hospital, Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP)
    • Dehydration
    • Delayed gastric emptying (gastroparesis)
    • Dental complications (enamel loss, cavities, tooth loss)
    • Diet
    • Dietitian
    • Diuretics
    • Edema
    • Electrolyte imbalance/Disturbances
    • Electrolytes
    • Elevated Blood Sugar/Glucose (Hyperglycemia)
    • Esophageal erosion
    • Esophagus, tearing of
    • Essential Fatty Acids, Omega-3, Omega-6, Fish Oil
    • F.E.A.S.T.
    • Family Therapist
    • Fat
    • Fat phobia
    • Finger clubbing/swelling
    • Fluid loading/Water loading
    • Food
    • Gastric distention
    • Gastric rupture
    • Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
    • Gastrointestinal difficulties
    • Gastrostomy feeding
    • Graded refeeding
    • Growth retardation
    • Gum disease
    • Hair symptoms
    • High blood sugar or hyperglycemia
    • Hunger
    • Hypochloremia
    • Hypokalemic alkalosis or acidosis
    • Hypomagnesaemia
    • Hypophosphatemia
    • Hypotension or low blood pressure
    • Hypothalamic hypogonadism
    • Hypothermia (low body temperature)
    • Ideal body weight (IBW)
    • Infertility
    • Inpatient hospital treatment (IP)
    • Insomnia
    • Ipecac Syrup
    • Iron Deficiency
    • Leukopenia
    • Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
    • Mallory-Weiss tear
    • Malnutrition
    • Metabolic Rate
    • Mortality
    • Muscle Atrophy
    • Myocardial toxicity
    • Nails symptoms
    • Nasogastric (NG) feeding
    • Nutrition
    • Nutritionist/Dietitian
    • Open weigh-in
    • Oral nutritional supplements
    • Osteopenia
    • Osteoporosis
    • Outpatient treatment
    • Pancreatitis
    • Parenteral Nutrition (PN) and Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN)
    • Pelvic ultrasound scanning
    • Peptic Ulcers
    • Pregnancy problems
    • Prevention programs
    • Purgative
    • Refeeding (also called renutrition)
    • Refeeding syndrome
    • Refractory
    • Renal (kidney) complications
    • Residential treatment/ residential care (RC)
    • Russell's Sign
    • Satiety
    • Seizures
    • Set-point theory
    • Skin symptoms
    • Stages of recovery
    • Swollen parotid glands (chipmunk cheeks)
    • Symptom Substitution or Crossover
    • Target weight
    • Taste
    • Therapeutic Meals/Snacks
    • Variety (in refeeding)
    • Vitamin D
    • Water loading
    • Weakness and Fatigue
    • Weigh-in Procedures
    • Weight Manipulation
    • Weight restoration, weight restored
    • Weight/Length Conversion
    • Zinc
  • 4. Biology & pharmacology
    • Antidepressants
    • BDNF - brain-derived neurotophic factor
    • Brain and Neurobiology of Eating Disorders
    • Cortisol
    • Dopamine
    • Drug/food interactions
    • Endorphins
    • Generic Drug
    • Genes
    • Genetic predisposition
    • Leptin
    • Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI)
    • Neuroleptics
    • Neurotransmitter
    • Norepinephrine
    • Over-the Counter Drugs (OTC)
    • Pre-Pubertal/Pre-Pubescent (pre-adolescent) onset
    • Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI)
    • Serotonin
    • Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)
    • Vasopressin
  • 5. Psychology and therapies
    • Alexithymia
    • Art Therapy
    • Autonomy
    • Behavioral Systems Family Therapy (BSFT)
    • Black-or-white (all-or-nothing) thinking
    • Central coherence
    • Cognition
    • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Enhanced Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-E)
    • Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT)
    • Conjoint Family Therapy (CFT)
    • Contingency Management
    • Coping Skills/Mechanisms
    • Dance/movement therapy
    • Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
    • Egodystonic
    • Egosyntonic
    • Emotional eating
    • Empowerment
    • Enmeshment
    • Experiential or expressive therapies
    • Exposure with Response Prevention & Exposure Meals/Foods
    • Externalization
    • Family Based Therapy (FBT)
    • Family Systems Therapy
    • Family unity
    • Fear foods
    • Food police
    • Grieving an eating disorder
    • Guilt
    • Hypnotherapy, Guided Image Therapy, Relaxation Therapy
    • Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
    • Intuitive eating (also called normalized eating)
    • Life events and traumatic factors
    • Magic Plate
    • Mandometer Method
    • Maudsley Approach, Maudsley Therapy, Family Based Therapy (FBT)
    • Meal Plan
    • Mental illness
    • Mindful eating
    • Motivation
    • Motivational enhancement therapy (MET)
    • Multifamily Therapy
    • Multiple-Family Day Treatment (MFDT)
    • Narrative Therapy
    • Neutral stance
    • Nutritional Therapy
    • Operant conditioning or behavior modification
    • Parent Counseling/Parent Coaching with a Clinician
    • Parent Support Group
    • Parent-to-parent consultation
    • Parentectomy
    • Psychiatrist
    • Psycho-Educational Parent Group
    • Psychoanalysis
    • Psychodynamic approach
    • Psychodynamic personality theories
    • Psychodynamic perspective
    • Psychologist
    • Psychosomatic family
    • Psychotherapy, psychotherapist
    • Recovery
    • Relapse
    • Relapse prevention plan
    • Self Monitoring
    • Self-Esteem
    • Separated family therapy (SFT)
    • Set-shifting
    • Severity/intensity
    • Sibling role
    • Strategic Family Therapy
    • Stress
    • Structural Family Therapy
    • Systematic Desensitization (graduated exposure therapy)
    • Targeted Behavior (TB)
    • Treatment team
    • Treatment Team Collaboration
    • Triggers
    • Violence
    • Willfulness
    • Willingness
  • 6. Associated or co-morbid conditions
    • Alcohol Abuse/Dependence
    • Anxiety
    • Anxiety Disorder
    • Anxiety/Panic Attack
    • Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
    • Avoidance behavior
    • Avoidant personality disorder
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Body Dysmorphic Disorder
    • Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
    • Depression
    • Dissociative Identity Disorder
    • Dissociative states
    • Dysomnia
    • Impulsive behaviors
    • Mania
    • Mood Disorders
    • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
    • Personality Characteristics Associated with Eating Disorders
    • Personality disorder
    • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    • Self-harm, self-mutilation, self-injury (SI)
    • Skin Picking (Dermatillomania)
    • Substance abuse
    • Suicide, suicidal ideation
    • Trichotillomania
  • 7. Non-clinical terms, slang & acronyms
    • Ana
    • Baryphobia
    • Bigorexia
    • Manorexia
    • Mia
    • MiAna
    • Pregorexia
    • Pro-Ana
    • Pro-mia
    • Rexies
    • Thinspiration
  • 8. Research terms
    • Co-morbid, co-morbidity
    • Cohort, cohort study
    • Compliance
    • Consent Form
    • Control Group
    • Controlled trial
    • Correlate
    • Double-blind
    • Enrollment
    • Etiology
    • Evidenced Based Treatment
    • Fixed markers
    • Heritability
    • Investigator
    • Longitudinal Study
    • Mortality rate
    • Multi-factorial
    • Norms
    • Placebo
    • Protocol
    • Protocol Amendment
    • Publication Bias
    • Randomization
    • Risk factors
    • Risks and Benefits
    • Sample
    • Sample Size
    • Sponsor
    • Sponsor-Investigator
    • Validity
    • Variable
    • Variable markers
    • Withdrawal
  • 9. Diagnostic tools
    • Body Satisfaction Scale (BSS)
    • Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ)
    • Child Eating Disorder Examination (ChEDE)
    • Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT)
    • DSM-V
    • Eating Attitudes Test (EAT)
    • Eating Disorder Examination (EDE)
    • Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q)
    • Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-3)
    • Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2)
    • Eating Disorders Inventory for Children (EDI-C)
    • Kids' Eating Disorders Survey (KEDS)
    • Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnosis (Q-EDD)
    • Setting Conditions for Anorexia Nervosa Scale (SCANS)
    • Stirling Eating Disorders Scales (SEDS)
    • Yale-Brown-Cornell Eating Disorder
  • DONATE TO F.E.A.S.T.
  • Weight Stigma
    • Obesity
    • Overeating
    • Overweight
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Why an ED glossary?

This comprehensive glossary has been created to give parents a quick reference tool that explains, in simple lay language, the terms used in the research, management and treatment of eating disorders. It is designed to empower parents by helping them understand a very complex range of illnesses in order to converse with their treatment providers, ask the right questions, understand the answers, and ultimately plan and execute the most effective course of treatment. Many of the terms are broad and may be employed in other areas of medicine or mental health; the definitions provided here apply specifically to their meaning within the context of eating disorders. Additional source references are provided for those wishing to delve deeper.

The EATING DISORDERS GLOSSARY is researched, written and maintained by F.E.A.S.T - Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders, an international non-profit organization. The definitions and explanations  provided here have been edited with the help of members of FEAST's Professional Advisory Panel. The definitions are designed to inform and explain the terms factually according to the best evidence available. They do not seek to advise you on any course of treatment; that should remain the domain of your treatment providers.

To protect the quality of information, the glossary cannot be edited by readers. However, we openly solicit comments, corrections or modifications on existing material as well as your suggestions for additional terms on the vast subject of eating disorders. Send your suggestions and comments to glossary@feast-ed.org.

 

About F.E.A.S.T.  

F.E.A.S.T. -- Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating disorders -- is an international organization of and for parents and caregivers. A non-profit organization founded in 2008, F.E.A.S.T.'s mission is to help loved ones recover from eating disorders by providing information and mutual support, promoting evidence-based treatment, and advocating for research and education to reduce the suffering associated with eating disorders. The organization is run by a board of directors, almost all of whom are parents of sufferers, and it is guided by a Professional Advisory Panel of eating disorders experts from the United States, France, United Kingdom and Australia.

F.E.A.S.T.'s founding principles:

  • Eating disorders are biologically based mental illness and fully treatable with a combination of nutritional, medical, and therapeutic supports.
  • Parents do not cause eating disorders, and patients do not choose eating disorders.
  • Parents and caregivers are a powerful tool for a loved one's recovery from eating disorder.
  • Blaming and marginalizing parents in the eating disorder treatment process causes harm and suffering.
  • When available, patients should receive evidence-based treatment.
  • Families should be supported in seeking the most appropriate treatment in the least restrictive environment possible.
  • Food is medicine: all treatment should include urgent and ongoing nutritional rehabilitation.
  • When the family is supported, the patient is supported.
  • Siblings and all family members are affected by a family member's illness, and deserve full attention to their needs.
  • Parents have unique abilities to offer other parents support, information, and the wisdom of experience.

We welcome you to visit F.E.A.S.T., and perhaps even join us in our mission.

2. Symptoms and behaviors

Eating disorders symptoms and behaviors are varied and complex. Many are caused by malnutrition. They include:
  • Acting Out: (Verbally-Physically-Behaviorally)
  • Amenorrhea
  • Anger
  • Anorexic behavior/temperament
  • Anorexic debate
  • Anorexic identity
  • Anorexic voice
  • Anosognosia/anosognosic
  • Appetite
  • Appetite Suppressants
  • Body checking
  • Calorie
  • Calorie counting
  • Chewing & Spitting (Chew-spit)
  • Cognitive distortions
  • Denial
  • Dishonesty
  • Eating rituals
  • Environmental triggers
  • Food Preoccupation
  • Forbidden foods
  • General Symptoms of Eating Disorders
  • Ketosis
  • Lactose intolerance
  • Lanugo
  • Perfectionism
  • Perseveration
  • Prevalence of Eating Disorders
  • Purge, purging
  • Restriction, restricting
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian, vegetarianism

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