Eating Disorders
Section committee
Section mission
This Section's mission is to:
Promote high standards in research, training and clinical practice in the field of so severe and disabling psychiatric disorders.
Eating disorders are one of the most common health problems in adolescents and young adults of Western countries. They are more common in females and include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder and other unspecified or otherwise specified eating disorders. Although they are primarily psychiatric disorders, they may have serious and severe consequences on the physical health of affected people, representing one of the most frequent causes of disability for young people, carrying also a significant risk for death. The WHO identified eating disorders as a priority for the mental health of adolescents and young adults.
Section objectives
- To enhance the attention of both mental and non-mental health specialists (practitioners) toward eating disorders
- To disseminate updated knowledge relevant to etiopathogenesis, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders
- To advance the development of evidence-based therapeutic interventions
- To develop proposals for adoption as EPA consensus and position statements in the field of eating disorders
- To encourage research on the identification of at risk subjects
- To establish working relations with national and international organizations sharing the goals of the EPA in the field of the Section
- To address ethical issues in research and clinical care involving people with schizophrenia
- To identify unmet needs and means to address them
- To develop and deliver training courses for undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional development
- To compare clinical service, training, research and policy across Europe
- To share information of different practices and legislation in different parts of Europe
- To fight stigma and discrimination of people with eating disorders