Some consider OSFED a less serious version of “real” eating disorders but it can be just as deadly to those who suffer from it.

There is an eating disorder called OSFED that is actually more common than anorexia and bulimia.

OSFED stands for "Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders" and is a subclinical categorization to describe eating disorders that do not meet all of the required qualifications of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder, as recognized by the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual).

To put the numbers in perspective, 1 in 200 adults will suffer from anorexia nervosa, but at least 1 in 20 (and 1 in 10 among teen girls) will exhibit eating disorder symptoms that could get them an OSFED diagnosis, Jennifer J. Thomas, PhD, Co-Director of The Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-author of Almost Anorexic , tells BuzzFeed.



And OSFED is just as problematic as the clinical eating disorders. "Regardless of diagnosis, the level of pain and distress is the same, and help is available regardless of the number on the scale," Thomas says.

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Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder are diagnosed under a list of symptoms that can leave many people out.

Diagnosing these eating disorders requires a specific list of symptoms. If you only have some of the symptoms, you don't get the official diagnosis.

For example, a bulimia diagnosis requires that a person both binge eats and purges their food. So eating a normal-sized meal and throwing it up doesn't qualify as bulimic, even though it's clearly an unhealthy eating behavior. Similarly, people may exhibit all the symptoms of anorexia but not be far enough below a healthy weight to meet an official diagnosis.

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But when it comes to understanding OSFED, it might be helpful to think of eating disorders falling on a continuum.

You might not check off all the boxes for an official anorexia or bulimia diagnosis, but that doesn't mean that you don't have disordered eating patterns, or that you don't need help or shouldn't seek treatment. "Patients might feel they are not in need of or deserving of treatment unless they fall into a different category, which can be detrimental to recovery," Rachel Cohen, LCSW, Site Director at The Renfrew Center of Northern New Jersey, tells BuzzFeed.

Almost Anorexic

The chart below demonstrates how many factors can be at play in individual cases.

Almost Anorexic

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