Disordered Eating: Identifying, Treating, Preventing, and Differentiating It From Eating Disorders

In Brief Disordered eating is prevalent among people with diabetes and cansignificantly increase diabetes mortality and morbidity. When disorderedeating behaviors are culturally accepted and performed with significantfrequency by a variety of groups, it can lead to the perception that thesebehaviors are “normal,” which can be detrimental to the preventionand treatment of diabetes. Diabetes educators are capable of improving theirdiagnostic skills and treatment methods to meet the special needs of peoplewith diabetes who also suffer from disordered eating. It is important tointegrate key questions into assessment interviews and to ensure that thediabetes care team has the skill, knowledge, and tools to diagnose and treatdisordered eating to improve outcomes for individuals with diabetes.