Includes bibliographical references (p. 315-328) and index.

From diet to disorder : problems and prognosis -- Young, white, and female : myth or reality? -- Activity disorder : when a good thing goes bad -- Genes or jeans : what causes eating disorders? -- Eating disorder behaviors are adaptive functions -- Assessing the situation -- Treatment philosophy and approaches -- Individual therapy : putting the eating disorder out of a job -- Sharing the pain and the promise in group -- Enough about your mother, what did you have to eat today? -- Medical assessment and management -- The psychiatrist's role and psychotropic medication -- When outpatient treatment is not enough -- Alternative approaches to eating disorders -- To those who love them : guidelines for significant others -- Increasing awareness and prevention.