By : Bryan Archilla, Louise Pilsbury, Mallory Meek, Evelin Fuentes

 Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) is found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV. It is the category for people who do not meet the strict criteria for either Anorexia or Bulimia Nervosa, but who have significant concerns about eating and body image. For example, a person who shows almost all of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa, but who still has a normal menstrual cycle and/or body mass index, can be diagnosed with EDNOS. One may experience episodes of binging and purging, but may not do so frequently enough to warrant a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa.  For those with EDNOS: all of the criteria for anorexia nervosa are met except that, despite substantial weight loss, the individual’s current weight is in the normal range; all of the criteria for bulimia nervosa are met except that binge eating and inappropriate compensatory mechanisms occur at a frequency of less than twice a week or for a duration of fewer than three months.

 According to the first nationally representative study of eating disorders in the United States, which appeared in the February 2007 edition of Biological Psychiatry, an estimated 0.6 to 4.5 percent of people suffer from eating disorders in their lifetime.  This category has been shown in some studies to have the highest death rates of any category of eating disorder. 52 % of eating disorder sufferers may have EDNOS. Most patients do not have pure forms of eating disorders, and they may cross over from one disorder to the other over time.

 Many of the EDNOS symptoms are the same as other eating disorders, such as bulimia or anorexia, but don't fully meet the criteria of those disorders. EDNOS sufferers might exhibit a combination of eating disorders, such as being severely strict with counting calories but then still purging after eating.

 Preoccupation with food, calories, nutrition or cooking.  Denial of being hungry.  Obsessive exercise  Weighing oneself frequently.  Losing hair or beginning to experience thinning hair.  Feeling cold even though the temperature is normal or only slightly cool.  Menstrual irregularities.  Cannot voluntarily stop eating.  Feeling guilty or ashamed about eating.  Eating until the point of feeling uncomfortably full.  Often eating alone because of shame or embarrassment.

 -EDNOS is a deadly condition, with a mortality rate of 5.2 percent -- higher than both anorexia and bulimia -- despite the fact its sufferers often look healthy.  -Individuals with EDNOS are at risk for many of the medical complications of anorexia or bulimia, depending on the symptoms they have.  -Those that binge and purge run risks similar to bulimia. Electrolyte imbalance and dehydration can occur and may cause cardiac complications and, occasionally, sudden death. In rare instances, binge eating can cause the stomach to rupture, and purging can result in heart failure due to the loss of vital minerals like potassium.  -Persons with EDNOS who are restricting may have low blood pressure, slower heart rate, disruption of hormones, bone growth, and significant mental and emotional disturbance.

 -Some possible treatments for EDNOS include cognitive-behavioral therapy, either in a group setting or individual therapy session, combined with nutritional counseling and/or antidepressant medications such as fluoxetine (Prozac). It focuses on self-monitoring of eating and purging behaviors as well as changing the distorted thinking patterns associated with the disorder.

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