Raising Awareness About Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED)

In past years called Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS), Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED) is a segment of eating disorders that are receiving more attention in recent days. As awareness of OSFED has increased, the community behind the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) has added this group of disorders to the official guide for mental health illnesses.Especially since people with OSFED had often gone undiagnosed in the past, leading to an underserved population, the category of OSFED was viewed as a necessary inclusion in the latest edition of the DSM.

Types of Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders

The three most common forms of eating disorder are binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa. However, some people have disordered eating behaviors that don't exactly match the criteria for these disorders. The OSFED category includes different diagnostic criteria that allow other types of behaviors to receive eating disorder treatment. These include:

• Atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN): people with AAN will meet all criteria for anorexia nervosa diagnosis such as weight loss and food intake restriction but do not become what medical doctors consider to be underweight

• Limited duration or low-frequency binge eating disorder: this disorder is similar to binge eating disorder in that the person has binge eating episodes, but they are not as frequent or as long in duration as the more well-known disorder

• Limited duration or low-frequency bulimia nervosa: similar to the above, this has all the same criteria for a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa except that purging behaviors and binge eating episodes occur for less than three or four months

• Purging disorder: this disorder is similar to bulimia nervosa in that the individual repeatedly purges food and calories in an effort to avoid gaining weight. However, purging disorder does not include the binge eating episodes that are central to a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa

• Nighttime eating syndrome: Nighttime Eating Syndrome (NES) is defined by regular and repeated instances of waking in the night and having a binge eating episode. NES can cause unexplained weight gain, and contribute to depression, anxiety, and other co-occurring disorder. In many cases, the individual with NES does not realize or remember they are eating in the middle of the night. Consequently,receiving a diagnosis or specialized treatment can be more difficult.

Eating disorder treatment centers usually include similar treatment programs for OSFED as they do for other eating disorders. Ongoing support provided by these facilities significantly improves eating disorder recovery in patients who are eventually discharged from their treatment plan.

Symptoms of Other Specified Feeding Eating Disorders 

There are some characteristic concerns that people with an OSFED face; these include frequent dieting and fasting, obsessions about weight loss and food intake (such as counting fat grams, calories, weighing food portions). Other signs of OSFED include:

• Constant self-criticism, especially about their weight and appearance; they may say they "feel fat" or something similar frequently

• Frequent illnesses and/or lethargy; complaints usually involve gastrointestinal problems, dizziness, and fatigue, feeling cold all the time

• Food rituals like moving food around on the plate, refusing to eat if the foods touch on the plate, cutting off “the bad parts” and refusing to eat them

• Visits to the bathroom, frequently during the meal or directly afterward

• Rarely eating out with others or making strange excuses for why they never dine in restaurants

• Drinking diet soda, water, or black coffee extensively to fill the stomach and avoid eating

• Constantly chewing gum or sucking on mints to hide the smell of vomit

• Developing oral health problems such as stained teeth, chronic halitosis, gum disease, and even tooth loss. When this happens, aside from meeting with an OSFED expert. you should also visit salvatore dental ballston spa to address the immediate issue.

. Also be aware that OSFED treatment programs are often centered around talk therapy in individual and group settings and might include a medical component if the individual is suffering health consequences due to their disorder. Eating disorder treatment facilities recognize that OSFEDs are as serious as clinical anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder and should not be underestimated or trivialized. If you or a loved one is seeing any of the symptoms listed above, it may be a sign there is a need for OSFED recovery. Reach out to a professional as soon as possible – there's nothing to lose but your eating disorder.