Diagnosis for Eating Disorders

A diagnosis is made by a trained mental health or medical professional.

Medical
A number of medical tests can assess the effects of an eating disorder on a patients body and help detect the presence of medical conditions which may cause or contribute to weight loss or gain; some of the tests are:

    * Complete blood count
    * Echocardiogram
    * Thyroid screen: Checks for hypothyroidism

and hyperthyroidism[104] which may cause weight gain or loss and can occur concurrently with an eating disorder.

 

Psychological
A trained clinician conducts a clinical interview and may employ various psychometric tests some are general in nature others were devised specifically for use in the assessment of eating disorders.Some of the general tests that may be used are the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory.