Eating Disorders Clinical Practice Guidelines (APA, 2023)

American Psychiatric Association

These are some of the highlights of the guidelines without analysis or commentary. For more information, go directly to the guidelines by clicking the link in the reference.

April 04, 2023

Guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders were published in February 2023 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in the American Journal of Psychiatry.[1,2]

Assessment and Treatment

Screening for the presence of an eating disorder should be part of an initial psychiatric evaluation.

The initial evaluation of a patient with a possible eating disorder should include assessment of multiple factors, including but not limited to, patient’s history of height and weight, eating-related behaviors, food repertoire, weight control behaviors, and family history.

The initial psychiatric evaluation of a patient with a possible eating disorder should identify co-occurring health conditions and psychiatric disorders.

Anorexia

Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) who require nutritional rehabilitation and weight restoration should have individualized goals for weekly weight gain and target weight.

Adults with AN should be treated with an eating disorder–focused psychotherapy.

Bulimia

Adults with bulimia nervosa (BN) should be treated with eating disorder–focused cognitive-behavioral therapy and prescribed a serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

Binge-Eating Disorder

Patients with binge-eating disorder (BED) should be treated with eating disorder–focused cognitive-behavioral therapy or interpersonal therapy, either individually or in a group.

Adults with BED who prefer medication or have not responded to psychotherapy alone should be treated with either an antidepressant medication or lisdexamfetamine.

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