Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

Definitions

• Anorexia Nervosa (AN)
  • An eating disorder characterized by three essential features: 1) persistent restriction of nutrition leading to a significantly low body weight, 2) intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat, and 3) a disturbance in self-perceived weight or shape, or lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body weight. (source: DSM-5)
• Antipsychotic medication
  • Class of medications originally intended for the use of psychotic illnesses. These medications have increasingly been used off label, or without regulatory approval, for treatment of other psychiatric illnesses,including very severe eating disorders, although this varies depending on the medication in question.
• Anxiety
  • The anticipation of future danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of worry, distress, and/or physical symptoms of tension. (source: DSM-5)
• Arrhythmia
  • A condition in which the heart beats with an irregular or abnormal rhythm (i.e. too fast or too slow). (source: oxforddictionaries.com)
• Atypical Anorexia Nervosa
  • An eating disorder diagnosis recognized under the “Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder” designation of the DSM-5, given to an individual who meets all the criteria for anorexia nervosa, except that their weight is within the normal range despite significant weight loss. (source: DSM-5)
• Atypical Antipsychotic Medication
  • Also referred to as ‘Second Generation’ Antipsychotics.
  • This class of medications is used to treat a number of psychiatric conditions although regulatory approval varies depending on the drug in question. They are the type of antipsychotic medications most likely to be used ‘off label’ to treat severe eating disorders (examples include olanzapine, quetiapine and risperidone).
• Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
  • An eating or feeding disturbance (e.g. lack of interest in eating or food; avoidance based on the sensory characteristics of food; concern about the negative consequences of eating) characterized by persistent failure to meet appropriate nutritional and/or energy needs (e.g. significant weight loss, nutritional deficiency, etc.). ARFID has replaced the DSM-IV diagnosis of “Feeding Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood”. (source: DSM-5)
• Benzodiazepines
  • A class of medication used primarily to help alleviate symptoms of anxiety. (examples include lorazapam, clonazapam and diazepam)
• Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
  • An eating disorder characterized by episodes of binge eating, accompanied by a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g. a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating), that occurs, on average, at least once per week for 3 months. The binge eating is not associated with recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behaviours as in bulimia nervosa. (source: DSM-5)
• Binge Eating Disorder of Low Frequency and/or Limited Duration
  • An eating disorder diagnosis recognized under the “Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder” designation of the DSM-5, given to an individual who meets all the criteria for binge-eating disorder, except that the binge eating occurs, on average, less than once a week and/or for less than 3 months. (source: DSM-5)
• Binge eating episode (binge)
  • Eating, in a discrete period of time, an amount of food that is definitely larger than most individuals would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances, accompanied by feeling ‘out of control’ while eating. (source: DSM-5)
• Bloated
  • Abdominal swelling due to swallowed air or intestinal gas production. (source: dictionary.com)
• Body image
  • Attitudes, thoughts and perceptions about one’s own body. Body image can be positive, with the individual having a clear, comfortable and confident perception of their body, or it can be negative, with the individual expressing a distorted, uncomfortable, and unconfident perception of their body. (source: nationaleatingdisorders.org)
• Bulimia Nervosa
  • An eating disorder characterized by three essential features: 1) recurrent episodes of binge eating with a sense of lack of control over eating during the episodes, 2) recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviours to prevent weight gain (such as self-induced vomiting; misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other medications; fasting or restricting intake; or excessive exercise), and 3) self-evaluation that is unfairly influenced by body shape and weight. Both the binge eating and the inappropriate compensatory behaviours must occur, on average, at least once a week for 3 months, for a diagnosis of BN to be given. (source: DSM-5)
• Bulimia Nervosa of Low Frequency and/or Limited Duration
  • An eating disorder diagnosis recognized under the “Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder” designation of the DSM-5, given to an individual who meets all the criteria for bulimia nervosa, except that the binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviours occur, on average, less than once a week and/or for less than 3 months. (source: DSM-5)
• Clonazapam – a type of benzodiazepine (see Benzodiazepines)
• Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • A type of psychotherapy that challenges negative thought patterns in order to change unwanted behaviour or treat anxiety and mood disorders. (source: oxforddictionaries.com)
• Compulsion
  • Repetitive behaviours (e.g. hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g. praying, counting, repeating words silently) that an individual feels they need to perform in order to prevent some dreaded event or situation, or to reduce anxiety or distress; however, these behaviours or mental acts are clearly excessive and are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to prevent. (source: DSM-5)
• Computed Tomography Scan (CT Scan)
  • Also known as Computerized Axial Tomography Scan (CAT Scan)
  • An x-ray procedure that combines multiple x-ray images using a computer to create cross-sectional views and 3-D images of the internal organs and structures of the body to determine if any abnormalities are present. (source: medicinenet.com )
• Constipation
  • Difficulty in emptying the bowels, usually involving hard stools or a sense of incomplete emptying after a bowel movement. Medically, constipation is defined as fewer than 3 stools per week, or in severe cases less than 1 stool per week. (source: medicinenet.com)
• Day Treatment Program (day hospital)
  • An intensive program which generally involves patient attending groups, sessions, meals or activities during daytime working hours. Programs vary in length and intensity and can be used to help treat different psychiatric conditions when patients have not responded to standard available outpatient therapy.
• Dental erosion
  • Erosion is the loss of tooth enamel (in the case of eating disorders caused by acid exposure as a result of vomiting). Enamel is the hard, protective coating of the tooth, which protects the sensitive dentine underneath. When the enamel is worn away, the dentine underneath is exposed, which may lead to pain and sensitivity. (source: dentalhealth.org)
• Depression
  • A mood disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness and worthlessness that don’t go away on their own. (source: www.healthline.com/)
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5^th Edition (DSM-5)
  • A classification of mental disorders with associated criteria designed to facilitate more reliable diagnoses of these disorders, created by the American Psychiatric Association. (source: DSM-5)
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
  • A type of therapy that helps facilitate health promoting behavior using skills that target emotional and cognitive regulation.
• Diet pill
  • A tablet or capsule containing chemical substances that aid in reducing or controlling body weight, usually by suppressing the appetite. (source: dictionary.com)
• Diuretic
  • A substance that promotes the production of urine by the kidney by limiting the ability of the kidney to reabsorb sodium, thereby increasing water excretion. Substances in food and drinks, such as coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages, may act as diuretics, however diuretic pills are also available. (source: medicinenet.com)
  • Also known as a water pill
• Eating Disorder (Feeding and Eating Disorders)
  • Disorders characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behaviour that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning. (source: DSM-5)
• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
  • A noninvasive, painless test that functions to record the electrical signals that travel through your heart, as every heartbeat is triggered by an electrical impulse normally generated from special cells in your heart. The electrocardiogram can be used to look for patterns among these heartbeats and rhythms to diagnose various heart conditions. (source: mayoclinic.org)
• Electrolytes
  • Any of the ions (e.g. of sodium or calcium) in biological fluid that regulate or affect most metabolic processes. The balance of electrolytes in our body is essential for normal function of our cells and organs. Electrolyte monitoring is important in treatment of AN and BN. (source: merriam-webster.com, www.medicinenet.com)
• Esophagus
  • The esophagus is a muscular tube connecting the throat (pharynx) with the stomach. The esophagus is about 8 inches long, and is responsible for carrying food and liquids from the mouth to the stomach. (source: webmd.com)
• Estrogen
  • Any of a group of steroid hormones that promote the development and maintenance of female characteristics of the body. Such hormones are also produced artificially for use in oral contraceptives or to treat menopausal and menstrual disorders. (source: oxforddictionaries.com)
• Family-Based Therapy (FBT) for Eating Disorders
  • AKA Maudsley Family Therapy – a type of family therapy utilized for the treatment of adolescent restrictive eating disorders that serves to externalize the illness, raise parental anxiety, lift guilt and empower parents to take control of their child’s nutrition. It includes siblings and focuses on parent’s taking control of weight restoration and symptom interruption in the early phase of treatment, with gradual return of autonomy to the patient as treatment progresses. Family-Based therapy most often refers to a manualized approach to treatment; the manual “Treatment Manual for Anorexia Nervosa: A Family Based Approach” was written by Lock, Le Grange et al (2^nd, Guilford, 2013) source: www.maudsleyparents.org)
• Feeding Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood – see Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
• Fluoxetine (name brand Prozac) – see Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI)
• Guilt
  • A bad feeling caused by knowing or thinking you have done something wrong. Often manifests in individuals who reveal a preoccupation with the moral correctness of their behavior. (source: merriam-webster.com)
• Hormones
  • Your body's chemical messengers. They travel in your bloodstream to tissues or organs. They work slowly, over time, and affect many different processes, including growth, metabolism, sexual function, reproduction and mood. (source: nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus)
• Inpatient Treatment Program
  • Reserved for patients with eating disorders that typically present with life-threatening complications or in cases where less intensive treatment options, such as outpatient therapy have failed. Programs may vary tremendously, but generally focus on medical stabilization, symptom interruption, renourishment and weight gain.
• International Statistical Classification of Disease (ICD)
  • A diagnostic tool designed by the World Health Organization (WHO) used to monitor the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other health problems for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. (source: who.int)
• Irritable
  • Having or showing a tendency to be easily annoyed or made angry. (source: oxforddictionaries.com)
• Kidneys
  • A pair of organs located in the back of the abdomen that function to filter and purify the blood. All the blood in our bodies passes through the kidneys several times a day. The kidneys remove wastes by creating urine, control the body's fluid balance, and regulate the balance of electrolytes. (source: webmd.com)
• Laxative
  • A medicine that is used to induce bowel movements, often used to treat constipation. They can be taken by mouth as liquids, tablets, or capsules, or they can be given via the rectum (back passage) - for example, suppositories, or enemas. (patient.co.uk)
• Lorazepam – see Benzodiazepines
• Maudsley Family Therapy – see Family-Based Therapy
• Menstrual cycle
  • When periods (menstruations) come regularly, this is called the menstrual cycle. Having regular menstrual periods is a sign that important parts of the female body are working normally. The menstrual cycle provides important body chemicals, called hormones, to keep you healthy. It also prepares your body for pregnancy each month. A cycle is counted from the first day of 1 period to the first day of the next period. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days long. Cycles can range anywhere from 21 to 35 days in adult females and from 21 to 45 days in young teens. (source: medicinenet.com)
• Menstruation
  • Normal vaginal bleeding that occurs as part of a woman's monthly cycle (also called a period). Every month, your body prepares for pregnancy. If no pregnancy occurs, the uterus, or womb, sheds its lining. The menstrual blood is partly blood and partly tissue from inside the uterus. It passes out of the body through the vagina. Periods usually last from three to five days. (source: nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus)
• Menarche
  • A girl’s first menstrual period. It usually occurs sometime between ages 11 to 14, but can begin as early as 9 years old. (source: webmd.com)
• Mood
  • A pervasive and sustained emotion that alters the individual’s perception of the world. Common examples include: depression, joy, anger, and anxiety. (source: DSM-5)
• Nausea
  • An uneasy or unsettled feeling in the stomach that may or may not be accompanied by an inclination to vomit (source: nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus)
• Obsession
  • Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images, that are experienced as intrusive and unwanted and that in most individuals cause significant anxiety or distress. The individual tries to ignore or overcome such obsessions, or tries to neutralize them with some other thought or action (i.e. by performing a compulsion). (source: DSM-5)
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Disorder characterized by the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both (please see glossary definitions for more information as to what constitutes an obsession or a compulsion). The obsessions and compulsions are time-consuming or may cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. (source: DSM-5)
• Olanzapine (name brand Zyprexa) – see antipsychotic medication
• Osteoporosis
  • A disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue. This leads to increased bone fragility and risk of fracture (broken bones), particularly of the hip, spine, wrist and shoulder. Building strong bones during childhood and adolescence is the best defense as the greatest bone mass is achieved at an early age, 16-20 in girls and 20-25 in young men. (source: osteoporosis.ca)
• Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders
  • A diagnostic category of the DSM-5 that applies to disorders in which symptoms associated with a feeding and eating disorder predominate, causing clinically significant distress or impaired functioning in various areas of life, but do not meet the full criteria for any of the disorders in the feeding and eating disorders diagnostic class. Examples include but are not limited to: atypical anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa of low frequency and/or limited duration, and purging disorder. (source: DSM-5)
• Over-eating
  • Eating too much food too quickly (source: DSM-5)
• Over-exercising
  • A common symptom observed in eating disorder patients in which the patient exercises as a result of being very preoccupied or driven to do so as a result of emotional distress caused by the eating disorder. Patient with eating disorders that over-exercise tend to do so because they feel that they have to, to burn calories or get ‘fit,’ not because the activity is associated with pleasure or enjoyment.
• Perfectionist
  • A person who relentlessly strives for extremely high standards and won’t accept anything short of perfection. Perfectionists judge their own self-worth based on their ability to achieve their own unrelenting standards and often experience negative feelings, thoughts and beliefs as a result of setting such high standards. They are at risk for low self esteem based on always feeling that they should do better or be better. (source: cci.health.wa.gov.au)
• Prozac
  • Name brand medication for Fluoxetine, a type of selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). See “Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor” for more information on this class of medications.
• Purging behaviour
  • Includes behaviours such as self-induced vomiting; misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other medications; or excessive exercise, in an attempt to prevent weight gain (source: DSM-5)
• Purging disorder
  • An eating disorder diagnosis recognized under the “Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder” designation of the DSM-5, given to an individual displaying recurrent purging behaviour to influence weight or shape (e.g. self-induced vomiting; misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other medications) in the absence of binge eating. (source: DSM-5)
• Quetiapine (name brand Seroquel) – see atypical antipsychotic medication
• Residential treatment program for Eating Disorders
  • A level of treatment that requires a patient generally stay for a longer period of time to work on eating disorder symptoms or cognitions that have not responded to less intensive levels of treatment. Generally, before a patient enters a residential treatment program, they have tried and failed to remain healthy using outpatient, inpatient, and/or partial hospitalization programs.
• Restricting behaviours
  • An eating disorder symptom or behavior whereby a patient purposefully restricts food intake for the purposes of weight loss
• Salivary glands
  • Any of various glands that discharge a fluid secretion (saliva) into the oral cavity (source: merriam-webster.com)
• Seizure
  • The physical manifestations (e.g. convulsions, sensory disturbances, or loss of consciousness) resulting from abnormal electrical signals in the brain (as in epilepsy) (source: merriam-webster.com)
• Selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
  • A class of medications that target the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. SSRIs are typically prescribed in patients that have anxiety or mood disorders that causes substantial distress and impairment. Examples include fluoxetine (Prozac), setraline (Zoloft), fluvoxamine (Luvox), citalapram (Celexa) and escitalapram (Ciprolex).
• Self-esteem
  • The way an individual feels about him or herself, both inside and out. Someone with good self-esteem generally has a positive outlook, accepts him or herself and feels confident. Someone with low self esteem generally has a more negative outlook, has self-critical thoughts, struggles to accept him or herself and lacks confidence. (source: caringforkids.cps.ca)
• Self-loathing
  • Intense dislike or hatred of oneself. (source: oxforddictionaries.com)
• Seroquel
  • Name brand for the atypical antipsychotic, Quetiapine. For more information on this type of medication, please see “atypical antipsychotic medication”.
• Shame
  • A painful feeling of humiliation, regret, or guilt caused by the consciousness of wrong or dishonorable behaviour. (source: oxforddictionaries.com)
• Starvation
  • Severe or total lack of nutrients needed for the maintenance of life due to having nothing or not enough to eat. It is the most severe form of malnutrition which can result in death. (source: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com)
• Stress
  • The pattern of responses a person makes to events that disturb his/her equilibrium and tax or exceeds his/her ability to cope. (source: DSM-5).
• Testosterone
  • A steroid hormone that stimulates development of male secondary sexual characteristics (i.e. facial and body hair, deepening of voice etc), produced mainly in the testes, but also in the ovaries and adrenal cortex. (source: oxforddictionaries.com)
• Tooth enamel
  • Hard white substance covering the crown of a tooth. (source: dictionary.com)
• Vital signs
  • Clinical measurements, specifically pulse rate, temperature, respiration rate, and blood pressure, that indicate the state of a patient’s essential body functions. (source: oxforddictionaries.com)
• Vomit
  • The forcible voluntary or involuntary emptying ("throwing up") of stomach contents through the mouth. (source: webmd.com)
• Water pills – see diuretics
• Zyprexa
  • Name brand medication for Olanzapine, an antipsychotic medication. For more information on this class of medications see “antipsychotic medication”.

Acronyms

• AN – Anorexia Nervosa
• ARFID – Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
• BN – Bulimia Nervosa
• CBT – Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy
• CT Scan – Computed Tomography
• DBT – Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
• DSM-5 – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5^th Edition
• ECG or EKG - Electrocardiogram
• ED – Eating Disorder
• FBT – Family-Based Therapy
• ICD – International Statistical Classification of Disease
• OCD – Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• SSRI – Selective-Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor