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Chapter 16 - Evolving Perspectives on Eating Disorders: From Diagnosis to Digital Therapies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2025

By
Cecily M. Donnelly  and
Dasha Nicholls
Edited by
Shermin Imran
Shermin Imran
Affiliation:
Greater Manchester NHS Foundation Trust
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Summary

Eating disorders are complex conditions that pose significant challenges for diagnosis and treatment. Recent updates to diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 and ICD-11 have refined our understanding of eating disorders, underscoring the need for early intervention to improve recovery outcomes. This chapter reviews these changes and their implications for clinical practice. We explore the increasing complexity of eating disorder presentations, particularly those involving neurodevelopmental and personality disorders, which require nuanced treatment approaches. Additionally, the chapter examines the impact of social media on eating behaviours, highlighting both the negative influences and the potential benefits of online resources. The rise of digital therapies, especially in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, is discussed as a key development in expanding access to care. The chapter also addresses the evolving clinical presentation of eating disorders, noting that conditions like binge eating disorder, other specified feeding or eating disorders, and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder are now more common. To meet the needs of young people, we advocate for improved community care, public health strategies and further research into effective treatments. This chapter emphasises the urgent need to enhance recognition and support for ED across health care systems and community settings.

Keywords

eating disordersAnorexia NervosaBulimia NervosaBinge Eating DisorderAvoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorderchild mental healthadolescent mental healtheating behaviours

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Chapter
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Seminars in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , pp. 244 - 263
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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Visual Accessibility

Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.

Structural and Technical Features

ARIA roles provided
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge-org.demo.remotlog.com is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

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