General Eating Disorder
Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED)
Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED) is an eating disorder classification for those who do not meet the diagnostic criteria for any other eating disorders. OSFED has replaced “Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)” in The Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (DSM-IV).
While people with disordered eating may not show all the signs and symptoms of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or ARFID, their disordered eating is still valid and cause for concern. Because OSFED encompasses an array of eating disorders, it is often misunderstood and seen as less severe than other eating disorders. However, OSFED is actually the most common category of eating disorders, “represent[ing] an estimated 32% to 53% of all individuals with eating disorders” (“OSFED: The Other Eating Disorder,” 2018). In addition to being common, it also has a higher mortality rate than Anorexia and Bulimia. (Crow et al., 2009).