What is OSFED?
This fact sheet describes the symptoms, causes, function and treatment options for OSFED.
What are Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders?
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder
(OSFED) is a term used to describe
characteristics of a “feeding or eating disorder
that cause clinically significant distress or
impairment in social, occupational, or other
important areas of functioning predominate but do not meet the full criteria for any of the disorders in the feeding and eating disorders diagnostic class” (American Psychiatric Association, 2022).
OSFED carries the same level of psychological
and physical consequences as other eating
disorder diagnoses.
Treatment Options
The best treatment for people experiencing OSFED will depend on their symptoms. If the symptoms are similar to Anorexia Nervosa then the treatment should be the same as for someone with Anorexia Nervosa. Similarly, if the symptoms are more like Bulimia Nervosa or Binge Eating Disorder, then treatment should follow those approaches.
It is of paramount importance that people who fall into this diagnostic category are not deterred from seeking treatment for their eating disorder. OSFED diagnosis can be severe and life threatening.
“It took me a long time to get support. I always felt like I wasn’t sick enough because I didn’t meet the criteria for one of the traditional eating disorders. I’ve since realised that was just another way for the illness to convince me that I didn’t need help, even though I was so sick” - Kath, 43
