Eating Disorders have been extensively studied, and a cure is possible today.

While a permanent cure that works for all people with eating disorders has not yet been discovered, there are reports of success in 80 percent of patients. By ‘success’, total or great degree of improvement is recorded.

However, recovery is not an easy process. It requires dedicated effort over long time frames, sometimes lasting as long as eight to ten years.

Long term treatment can cause lapses

It is this longevity of the recovery process that sometimes causes relapses. The timeframe is too long for patient to be able to just grit their teeth and get on with it.

Since this article is just an overview of eating disorders, we will limit our discussion to just these points here.

In the next article in the series, we will discuss the effect that eating disorders can have on people, their detailed treatment plans, and also take a good look at some of the common eating disorders seen today.