It is estimated that around four to six percent of the population suffers from Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OFSED). This is a clinical category of disordered eating that describes individuals who struggle with maladaptive thoughts and behaviors related to food and body image, but do not meet all the diagnostic criteria for other specific disease like anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. While these disorders are not classified as official eating disorder diagnoses, they can adversely affect your physical and psychological health.

Orthorexia

This pattern of disordered eating is characterized by an obsession with healthy eating and avoiding “bad” foods. Orthorexia is rooted in the quality of foods consumed and not the quantity. It is not an official eating disorder diagnosis or a medically recognized term, but a descriptive term for an observed behavior. This underscores a real, serious pattern of disordered eating.

Exercise Compulsion or Over-Exercise

This is characterized by a significant amount of physical activity that is obligatory. Compulsive exercising is accompanied by a sense of urgency or agitation when individuals can’t engage in the exercise behavior. This exercise doesn’t have to be specific or performed for a minimum duration.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

This is a body image disorder characterized by obsessive thoughts related to body size, shape or weight. Damaging thoughts may be focused on a single body part or the entire body. BDD causes severe emotional distress, problems with daily functioning or extreme efforts to “fix” the real or imagined flaw.

Diabulimia

Diabulimia is a pattern of disordered eating where an individual with type 1 diabetes intentionally misuses insulin for weight control or loss. Like orthorexia, it isn’t an official eating disorder diagnosis or a medically recognized term.