Question

identify whether someone has an eating disorder, what questions are posed and what methods are used by psychologists and other trained professionals to diagnose the presence of anorexia?

Answer 1

• Diagnosing eating disorder requires an awareness of risk factors and sighns and symptoms.Treatment requires a multidisciplinary team including a primary care practitioner, nutritionist, and mental health professional.
• Eating disorders are quite common among young women.The primary care physician maybe the first one to detect the eating disorder,by checking the weight,progressive weight loss, or concern expressed by family members may also raise suspicion,asking questions about eating habits,checking blood pressure of the person,conducting blood tests to rule out other diseases like diabetes,chronic infections,etc. and then consulting with a nutritionist and if its a severe case,with a mental health professional.
• Symptoms common in anorexia include abdominal discomfort, bloating or constipation, and cold intolerance. When a clinician suspects anorexia, he/she would ask about previous weight and weight loss pattern, menstrual history in women, daytime hyperactivity and insomnia, and exercise habits.
• Two questions which may help in determining the patient's eating habits include,What did you eat yesterday? and Do you ever binge eat or use laxatives, diuretics, or diet pills?. Attitude toward body weight or shape may be elicited by asking, Do you think you are thin or too thin?
• An electrocardiogram is especially important in patients who are bingeing and purging, and who may have metabolic abnormalities. Also conducting bone densitometry should be considered to assess severity of bone loss, especially if the results will affect the treatment.
• The mental health professional would be recommended the case by the physician,and they would see if the symptoms meet the DSM criteria,only then an eating disorder would be detected.
• A psychologist would also ask about eating habits,what does the client like to eat,how many meals she eats in a day,what makes her happy,any traumatic situation she has faced etc.A psychologists would help to find out the underlying causes of he behaviour and would try to modify it by developing a treatment plan to to overcome the negative thoughts with positive ones.The focus may be on overall health and well-being, rather than weight.