Assessment and treatment of eating disorders

Eating disorders are potentially severe and life threatening, affecting primarily adolescents and young women. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have their onset in young adults; illness during this period can significantly affect both physical and psychological development. Since these women are fearful of having their disorders discovered, they are unlikely to seek psychiatric care. Therefore, it is important for primary care physicians, obstetricians, gynecologists, and even dentists or any clinician who works with young women to be able to identify, assess, refer, or treat young women with eating disorders. This article identifies common clinical presentations of women with eating disorders, how to assess these patients, and the best settings and methods for treatment.