Eating disorders - ISS (EN)

Food addiction is a behavioral addiction characterized by the compulsive consumption of food, tending to be high in fat and sugar, which activate the systems of gratification.

The resulting disorders of nutrition, such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, are a public health problem of increasing importance for their spread, and for their increasingly complex multifactor etiology.

The experience gained by professionals in the field highlights the importance of predicting for these conditions an early, and to form structured and multidisciplinary intervention.

The Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) coordinates the census of territorial resources for the treatment of eating disorders to improve access to citizens affected by these pathologies and ensures appropriateness of interventions.