apastia
Refusal to take food, as an expression of a psychiatric disturbance. See also anorexia nervosa.
appetite
A complex phenomenon, not to be confused with hunger, that in humans is the comparatively pleasant, though at times compelling, anticipation of certain foods. In other animals, appetite is studied by ...
binge-eating disorder
A condition (included in the DSM-IV appendix of conditions meriting further study, but not in the ICD-10 classification) characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating, with similar signs and ...
bulimia
n. insatiable overeating. This symptom may be psychogenic, occurring, for example, as a phase of anorexia nervosa (bulimia nervosa or the binge–purge syndrome); or it may be due to neurological ...
bulimia nervosa
A psychiatric disorder characterized by episodes of binge eating and compensatory behaviour (self-induced vomiting or laxative abuse) combined with an excessive concern over weight and body shape. A ...
confidence
A belief and an assurance in one's own abilities (self-confidence) or the abilities of another. In sport, it is essentially a feeling of having an expectation of success. Very often the most ...
culture-bound syndromes
Patterns of aberrant behaviour that do not fit easily into standard classifications of mental disorders and are entirely or mainly restricted to particular cultural groups, usually (ethnocentrically) ...
dexamethasone suppression test
(DSTs) tests based on the principle that appropriate doses of dexamethasone can suppress the output of cortisol from the adrenal glands in the normal state and that this ability is reduced or lost in ...
dieting
While one can diet to gain weight, or for specific physiological needs such as allergies or diabetes management, ‘dieting’ tends to refer to the process of manipulating food intake and ...
DSM-IV
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition) of the American Psychiatric Association, widely regarded as one of the most authoritative reference works on matters of ...
eating disorder
A class of mental disorders characterized by disturbances or problems associated with feeding or eating. See anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, feeding disorder of infancy or early childhood, pica, ...
eating disorder not otherwise specified
An eating disorder that does not meet the full criteria for a specific eating disorder (see anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa). It is characterized by a preoccupation with body image and body weight, ...
EDNOS
Eating disorder not otherwise specified. The subject has an eating disorder that is clinically significant, but does not fulfil the criteria for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.
Ellen West
The pseudonym of a young woman with anorexia nervosa who became the subject of the most famous case study of existential analysis, a long and disturbing account by the Swiss psychiatrist Ludwig ...
erosion
(i-roh-zhŏn)an eating away of surface tissue by physical or chemical processes, including those associated with inflammation. cervical e. an abnormal area of epithelium that may develop at the cervix ...
female athlete triad
The development of an eating disorder (e.g. anorexia nervosa), menstrual disorder (e.g. amenorrhoea), and a bone mineral disorder (e.g. osteoporosis) in a female athlete. It has been suggested that ...
food
Any material containing nutrients, such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats, which are required by living organisms in order to obtain energy for growth and maintenance. Heterotrophic organisms, such ...
Health and Disease
[This entry includes five subentries, an overview and discussions of health and disease in Africa, in Latin America, in South Asia, and in Southeast Asia. See also Body, The; Disability ...
hydrochloric acid
A strong acid present, in a very dilute form, in gastric juice. The secretion of excess hydrochloric acid by the stomach results in the condition hyperchlorhydria.
