by Mayer, Gwendolyn ¹, Perlea, Victor ¹

• ¹ Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg

This is the abridged version, for the extended version click here
The introduction and overview can be found here

Disclaimer: We have compiled this information to the best of our knowledge based on current scientific literature (as of May 2026). However, we do not provide diagnosis or treatment recommendations. If you notice any mental health concerns in yourself or in a child or adolescent in your care, please consult a medical doctor.

Diagnostic criteria

The ICD-11 and DSM-5 distinguish anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Anorexia involves restrictive intake, significantly low weight, fear of weight gain, and body image disturbance. Bulimia includes recurrent binge eating, loss of control, compensatory behaviours, and overvaluation of weight and shape. Binge eating disorder involves recurrent binges with loss of control and marked distress, without compensatory behaviour (Kölch et al., 2020).

Prevention measures

· School-based body image and dissonance-based programs can reduce onset of eating pathology (Strice et al., 2021).
· Family-focused and media-literacy interventions can reduce body dissatisfaction and disordered eating (Bennett et al., 2023; Liu et al., 2025).
· Early identification and brief interventions in primary care or school settings can help prevent progression to full disorders (Wong et al., 2024; Berry et al., 2025).

Risk factors

· Sociocultural factors such as thin or muscular ideal internalization, appearance-focused comparison, and weight-stigmatizing media (Varela et al., 2023).
· Interpersonal and family factors such as weight-related teasing, parental encouragement to diet, stress, and low family cohesion (Varela et al., 2023).
· Individual factors such as dieting, negative affect, low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, and perfectionism (Strice et al., 2021; Varela et al., 2023).

Treatment approaches

· Family-based treatment is the first-line outpatient approach for adolescents with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (Goldschmidt et al., 2023; Haas el al., 2023; Hagan et al., 2023).
· CBT and FBT can both be effective, with treatment choice guided by patient and family characteristics. CBT is particularly useful for binge eating, purging, and overvaluation of weight and shape (LaGrange et al., 2022).

References for this article are here