In some cases, insurance providers have spending caps on care because eating disorders are considered a mental illness. Insurers also routinely refuse to pay for hospitalization except in cases that require urgent care, such as heart or liver failure. If you've got diabetes, no problem. More than 5 million women and girls in the United States suffer from an eating disorder or a borderline condition, and at least 1,000 will die from one this year. Anorexia is marked by severely limited food intake.
Bulimics overeat, then purge themselves.
Treatment ranges from hospitalization to outpatient treatment, depending on the severity of the condition. Long-term care, including counseling, is normally required, doctors say. Pasternak's anorexia first surfaced just before her freshman year in high school. Since then, she has been hospitalized five times and still suffers side effects, including osteoporosis and heart problems. Some eating disorder sufferers face brain damage, anemia, bone loss and infertility.