EDNOS

Is an eating disorder without a name in a way. Basically, the formal diagnosis of "Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified" is a way to categorize and eating disorder that doesn't exactly fit the parameters of anorexia or bulimia. It is a very broad category, because it may can mean many things:

• A female who meets all other criteria for anorexia but continues to have regular menstrual periods.
• A person who regularly binges WITHOUT engaging in inappropriate compensatory behaviors such as purging (also known as binge eating disorder).
• Someone who binges and purges but does not meet the frequency or duration requirements for a diagnosis of bulimia
• Someone who regularly purges after eating regular amounts of food, but is not yet "clinically underweight".
• Someone who regularly chews food and spits it out without swallowing, but does not meet the criteria for either bulimia or anorexia.

Often, people categorized as having ED-NOS are basically anorexic or bulimic, but cannot be classified as such because of a technicality.