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Review
. 2023 Jul 8;20(14):6325.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20146325.

Current Discoveries and Future Implications of Eating Disorders

Bing Feng  1 , Jerney Harms  1   2 , Emily Chen  1 , Peiyu Gao  1 , Pingwen Xu  3 , Yanlin He  1
Affiliations
Review

Current Discoveries and Future Implications of Eating Disorders

Bing Feng et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by severe disturbances in eating behaviors and can sometimes be fatal. Eating disorders are also associated with distressing thoughts and emotions. They can be severe conditions affecting physical, psychological, and social functions. Preoccupation with food, body weight, and shape may also play an important role in the regulation of eating disorders. Common eating disorders have three major types: anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED). In some cases, EDs can have serious consequences for an individual's physical and mental health. These disorders often develop during adolescence or early adulthood and affect both males and females, although they are more commonly diagnosed in young adult females. Treatment for EDs typically involves a combination of therapy, nutrition counseling, and medical care. In this narrative review, the authors summarized what is known of EDs and discussed the future directions that may be worth exploring in this emerging area.

Keywords: anorexia nervosa; binge eating; bulimia nervosa; eating disorder.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Three major eating disorders and their symptoms in human subjects (AN: anorexia nervosa; BN: bulimia nervosa; BED: binge eating disorder).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

Y.H. is supported by institutional grants from Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.