Eating disorders are potentially life-threatening psychiatric illnesses commonly accompanied by serious medical problems. They typically appear during adolescence or early adulthood, a time when young people are heading to college or interviewing for a first job. Many people recover fully from eating disorders, but others become chronically ill, and symptoms can continue into middle age and beyond.

Written by leading authorities in eating disorders research and treatment, Eating Disorders: What Everyone Needs to Know answers common questions about eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, as well as a newly described condition, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Practical yet authoritative, the book defines the eating disorders, explains what we know about them based on the latest science, and describes how treatment works. Importantly, the book dispels common myths about eating disorders, such as the notion that they occur only amongst the affluent, that they affect only girls and women, or that they simply result from environmental factors such as the fashion industry and society's obsession with thinness. In reality, as the book explains, there is substantial evidence that eating disorders are brain-based illnesses that do not discriminate, and that they have been around for a very long time. Eating Disorders: What Everyone Needs to Know is essential reading for those seeking authoritative and current information about these often misunderstood illnesses.

B. Timothy Walsh, MD, is Ruane Professor of Psychiatry at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and founded Columbia's eating disorders research program over 40 years ago. Over the course of his career, he has published more than two hundred papers and received numerous grant awards from the National Institutes of Health. He has served as President of both of the major international eating disorders associations, and chaired the Eating Disorders Work Group for both DSM-IV and DSM-5. He has received awards from the American Psychiatric Association, the Academy for Eating Disorders, the National Eating Disorders Association, and the Association for Behavior and Cognitive Therapies.

Evelyn Attia, MD, is a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Director of the Columbia Center for Eating Disorders at the NYS Psychiatric Institute and New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She has dedicated her professional career to the study and treatment of individuals with eating disorders. Additionally, she is an active advocate for individuals with eating disorders and their families, speaking and educating about these challenging conditions to both academic and general public audiences. She serves on the board of the National Eating Disorders Association and, together with Drs. Glasofer and Walsh, she served as an editor for the Handbook of Assessment and Treatment of Eating Disorders.

Deborah R. Glasofer, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and clinical psychologist at the Columbia Center for Eating Disorders at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is involved in research on eating and weight disorders in adults and adolescents, and provides instruction and supervision for psychiatry residents, post-doctoral fellows, and other trainees in cognitive behavioral therapy for mood, anxiety, and eating disorders. She served as an editor for the Handbook of Assessment and Treatment of Eating Disorders, has written for Scientific American Mind, Psychology Today, The Huffington Post, Verywell, and The Feed, and can be followed on Twitter at @drglasofer

Part I: Facing the Facts and Busting the Myths
Chapter 1: What are Eating Disorders?
Chapter 2: Who Gets Eating Disorders?
Chapter 3: How Do You Know if You or Someone You Care About has an Eating Disorder?
Chapter 4: What Causes Eating Disorders?
Chapter 5: What Could Make an Eating Disorder Better or Worse?
Chapter 6: Co-Occurring Problems
Chapter 7: Eating and Feeding Disorders in Children
Chapter 8: Eating Disorders and Obesity

Part II: Taking Action: Treatment and Recovery
Chapter 9: Where Do People Get Eating Disorders Treatment?
Chapter 10: Who Provides Eating Disorders Treatment?
Chapter 11: Are There Medications That Are Helpful?
Chapter 12: What Kinds of Psychotherapy Help Eating Disorders Symptoms the Most?
Chapter 13: Are There Other Useful Strategies?
Chapter 14: What Does Recovery Look Like?
Chapter 15: Prevention

Part III: Eating Disorders Research: Hot Topics
Hot Topic #1: Olanzapine: A New Medication for Anorexia Nervosa
Hot Topic #2: Cognitive Neuroscience: Emerging Knowledge About How The Brain Works is Being Applied to Eating Disorders.
Hot Topic #3: Genetics: Emerging Knowledge about Genetics