Binge Eating Disorder (BED) will be introduced as its own stand alone eating disorder, joining anorexia and bulimia nervosa in the fifth edition of the DSM, expecting to be published this May.
The DSM (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) compiled by the American Psychiatric Association provides criteria of diagnosis of mental disorders.
Since 1994, binge eating has been considered an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified in the appendix of DSM-IV. More research was needed to determine the characteristics of those who have binge eating disorder. In other words, BED wasn’t its own diagnosis has been one barrier for accurate diagnosis and proper treatment.
Moving binge eating from the appendix into its own category of illness means…
There will be an INCREASE in:
AWARENESS. Among sufferers, the public, and among medical and mental health providers .
TREATMENT. More people will likely be accurately diagnosed and seek treatment.
INSURANCE COVERAGE. Insurance carriers are more likely to pay for treatment.
RECOVERY. More people seeking treatment can mean an increase in recovery.
By Melinda Sen-Wah Lau, Guest Blogger.
Edited by Alison Pelz, LCSW, RD, LD, CDE