Eating disorders
Recognising anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, spotting medical instability that needs admission, refeeding safely and knowing what the physician manages and what goes to the specialist team.
Tier 2Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Anorexia nervosa has one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric disorder, from cardiac death, starvation and suicide.
- Physicians meet eating disorders as bradycardia, hypokalaemia, hypoglycaemia, syncope, osteoporosis or unexplained weight loss, often in someone who denies a problem.
- The physician's jobs: recognise it, judge medical risk, admit when unstable, refeed safely, and hand over to an eating disorder service. Psychological treatment is the core therapy.
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Sources
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders (Hay P et al. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2014;48:977-1008), now archived by RANZCPAU/NZRANZCP, 2014, archiving announced November 2024; kept for reference
- Archiving of RANZCP clinical practice guidelinesAU/NZRANZCP, 2024
- Eating disorders: recognition and treatment (NG69)National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2017, updated 2020
- Medical emergencies in eating disorders (MEED): guidance on recognition and management (CR233)Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2022
- The Australasian Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition: consensus statements on refeeding syndromeAU/NZNutrition & Dietetics (Matthews-Rensch et al., 2025;82:128-42), 2025
- Ralph AF, Brennan L, Byrne S et al. Management of eating disorders for people with higher weight: clinical practice guideline. J Eat Disord 2022 (lisdexamfetamine the only TGA-approved eating disorder medicine)AU/NZJournal of Eating Disorders (National Eating Disorders Collaboration), 2022
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR)American Psychiatric Association, 2022
- Misra M et al. Physiologic estrogen replacement increases bone density in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa. J Bone Miner Res 2011;26:2430-8Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2011
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy