Eating behavior and eating disorders: the interface between clinical research and clinical practice

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be a highly effective form of treatment for patients with bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Issues of satiety disturbances, food restriction, and food choice are central to this form of therapy; however, ingestive behavior research that directly addresses these issues in eating disorder patients has often been overlooked by clinicians. These areas of research are reviewed and the implications of the findings for more effective CBT therapy with anorexics and bulimics are discussed.