Keywords: Eating disorders / Anorexia nervosa / Bulimia nervosa / Cognitive distorsions / Body image / Anxiety disorders.

This article reviews the literature on anorexia and bulimia nervosa, with particular attention to issues of clinical correlates, etiology, diagnosis, assessment and treatment that are relevant to clinicians treating individuals with anorexia or bulimia nervosa syndromes.

Eating disorders are characterized by an intensive fear of being obese, preocupation with food and eating, cognitive distorsions regarding body image and weight and use of extreme weight loss methods (e.g., strict dieting, self-induced vomiting) to prevent weight gain.

Therefore, it is neccesary to assess the most commonly psychopathology associated with eating disorders such as anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse and personality disorders.

Different theorical models have emphasized the importance of biological, psychological and social factors in the etiology and maintenance of eating disorders.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is the most extensively studied psychotherapeutic intervention for eating disorders and is generally considered as the treatment of choice (Agras, 1993; Fairburn, Marcus & Wilson, 1993).

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