Eating Disorder Acronyms
What do all those letters mean?
If you are new to the Eating Disorder world, get ready for a whole lot of acronyms that are sure to confuse you.
AN, RAN, BED, FBT – there are so many it can seem like a different language.
So what do they all mean?
We’ve put together this handy guide to help you through.
Most commonly used acronyms
AN: Anorexia
ADD: Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ARFID: Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
BDD: Body Dysmorphic Disorder
BED: Binge Eating Disorder
BMI: Body Mass Index
BMR: Metabolic Rate
BN: Bulimia Nervosa
BPD: Borderline Personality Disorder
BSFT: Behavioural Systems Family Therapy
CBT: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
COE: Compulsive Over-Eating Disorder
CW: Current Weight
D: Daughter
DBT: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
DD: Darling Daughter
DH: Dear Husband
DS: Darling Son
DX: Diagnosis
ED: Eating Disorder
EDNOS: Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
FBT: Family-based Therapy
HW: Highest Weight
IBW: Ideal Body Weight
IP: Inpatient Hospital Treatment
IOP: Intensive Outpatient Treatment
IT: Interpersonal Therapy
LTGW: Long-Term Goal Weight
LW: Lowest Weight
MET: Motivational Enhancement Therapy
NES: Night Eating Syndrome
NG : Nasogastric Feeding
OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
PHP: Partial Hospitalisation Program
RC: Residential Care
S: Son
SI: Self Injury
SIB: Self Injurious Behaviour
STGW: Short-Term Goal Weight
TW: Target Weight
Become a member of EDFA for $25 per year (Australian Carers Only)
EDFA is a proud not-for-profit, predominantly volunteer-run organisation.
We invite you to be part of a revolutionary peer support group making positive changes in the eating disorder space. Strength in numbers means we are able to affect change and have the collective voice of the carers recognised.
We provide opportunities to connect with other parents and carers who share your experiences, helping you to feel less alone and isolated.
Yearly membership is just $25.
Membership gives access to:
A range of resources in our Member Only section of the website including Educational Recordings, Member Recommended Clinicians and Services, and more.
Over 70 support groups and education sessions per year. including:
Twice monthly education sessions
strive Carer Support Groups for carers of loved ones with any type of eating disorder (run three times each month)
strive ARFID Carer Support Group (run monthly)
strive bulimia nervosa Carer Support Group (run quarterly)
strive binge eating disorder Carer Support Group (run quarterly)
strive4Men Carer Support Group (run quarterly) – a group for male carers
siblings Support Group (run monthly) – a group for siblings of those with an eating disorder
daily online support through our private strive Australia Facebook Group and the opportunity to connect, share, learn and ask questions is another benefit of being part of our EDFA community.
discounts to eating disorder events and conferences
Your membership helps EDFA with ongoing costs of running a not-for-profit organisation, and importantly, shows Government that families value, need and believe in this type of lived experience support. Strength in numbers helps EDFA lobby as the collective voice of carers for better services, treatments, access to expert clinicians and specialised eating disorder units, to help our loved ones in their recovery journey and to acknowledge the impact of an eating disorder diagnosis on the entire family unit.
