What is an eating disorder? : implications for current and future diagnostic criteria

Murray and Touyz (2013) argue that muscle dysphoria more closely resembles an eating disorder than a body dysmorphic disorder (where it is currently categorized) on the basis of the concomitant eating and exercise preoccupation and body image or shape and weight concerns. This is persuasive but raises the question, 'what is an eating disorder?' Is an eating disorder primarily a disturbance of eating, or a disorder of body image, or both? In the present conceptualization, how well are eating disorders distinctive from others, e.g. addiction or anxiety disorders? In addressing these questions I will start with an overview of the present diagnostic groups and then argue for a core psychopathology to be recognized as common to all eating disorder diagnostics.