Written by: THE BALANCE
Medically reviewed by Dr. Sarah Boss, MD
Last updated: January 19, 2026
Fact checked
Quick Summary
  • Eating disorders are serious mental and physical health conditions that can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or background.
  • They often develop quietly and grow stronger over time, creating a cycle of fear, restriction, bingeing, purging, or loss of control around food.
  • In the United States alone, more than 30 million people will experience an eating disorder at some point in their life, and worldwide the number reaches nearly 70 million.

Eating disorders are serious mental and physical health conditions that can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or background. They often develop quietly and grow stronger over time, creating a cycle of fear, restriction, bingeing, purging, or loss of control around food. Many people struggle in silence for years before seeking help. In the United States alone, more than 30 million people will experience an eating disorder at some point in their life, and worldwide the number reaches nearly 70 million.

Recovery is possible, but it requires the right support, consistency, and a safe environment. For individuals who need private mental health care with round-the-clock supervision, Balance Rehab Clinic is known as a leading luxury treatment center offering highly personalized inpatient eating disorder treatment. Our approach focuses on the whole person, not just symptoms, helping patients rebuild their physical stability, emotional health, and relationship with food.

Eating disorders can feel overwhelming, but you are not alone. With the right guidance, compassion, and evidence-based care, many people regain control, restore their health, and return to a stable and fulfilling life.

Key Takeaways

  • Eating disorders affect millions of people worldwide and can impact physical, emotional, and social health.
  • Conditions like anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder often require structured treatment and close medical monitoring.
  • Early support improves recovery outcomes and prevents long-term health complications.
  • Inpatient care is often the safest and most effective option for moderate to severe symptoms.
  • Therapy, nutritional rehabilitation, and medical supervision form the core of successful treatment.
  • Many individuals also benefit from holistic practices such as mindfulness, movement, and body-awareness work.
  • High-profile clients, including executives, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and high-net-worth individuals, often need private, discreet treatment settings.
  • Balance Rehab Clinic provides a calm, luxury environment designed for deep healing, personalized care, and complete privacy.
  • With the right team and treatment plan, recovery is possible, and long-term stability can be achieved.

  • Eating disorders affect 70 million people worldwide.
  • Those with a binge eating condition have the greatest lifetime prevalence of eating disorders (5.5 percent compared to 2 percent for bulimia and 1.2 percent for anorexia).
  • An eating disorder affects around 30 million people in the United States.
  • In the United States, eating disorders are the 3rd most common chronic condition among adolescent females.
  • In the United States, 10 million males will develop an eating disorder during their lifetime.
  • Between 2000 and 2018, the worldwide prevalence of eating disorders climbed from 3.4 percent to 7.8 percent.
  • Eating disorders affect 70 million people worldwide.
  • In Asia, eating disorders are most common in Japan, next to Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan.
  • As of 2012, Austria had the greatest prevalence rate in Europe, at 1.55 percent.
  • Nearly half of the US population is aware of someone who suffers from an eating disorder.
  • Between 2000 and 2018, the global prevalence of eating disorders climbed from 3.4 percent to 7.8 percent.
  • As of 2001-2004, eating disorders were more common among young women (3.8 percent) than men (1.5 percent) in the United States.
  • Males account for a quarter of people suffering from anorexia. Because men are diagnosed significantly later than women, they have a higher risk of dying. This could be owing to the widespread belief that men do not suffer from eating disorders.
  • Each hour, about one person dies as a direct consequence of an eating disorder.
  • The death rate for eating disorders is the greatest of any mental condition.
  • The most lethal mental disorder is anorexia. According to one study, those with anorexia are 56 times more probable than people without an eating condition to commit suicide.
  • Up to half of those with eating disorders abused alcohol or illegal drugs at 5 times the rate of the general public.
  • The great majority of persons admitted to hospital for an eating disorder (97 percent) have a co-occurring health problem. The primary underlying illness is mood disorders, like major depression, second by anxiety disorders, like post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and substance use disorder.
  • Diabetic individuals with eating disorders struggle to regulate their diabetes, putting them at risk for diabetic consequences such as stroke, neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, eyesight loss, and kidney disease.

Who Qualifies as a Candidate In General

Drug or alcohol addiction that is secondary or co-occurring Adolescent and adult patients ranging in age from 13 to adulthood

  • Eating disorder is the primary diagnosis.
  • Other serious co-occurring mental/emotional disorders
  • Suicide risk is moderate.
  • As a result of an eating disorder, your physiological or mental health is seriously harmed.

At our inpatient eating disorder treatment centers, an evaluation is needed to define the level of care. The severe suicidal risk with suicidal intent, a background of sexual behavior or sexual malevolent behavior, a background of and regarded a high risk for violent or aggressive behavior toward others, and a medical or physical condition requiring admission to a surgical/medical or ICU unit are all exclusionary criteria.

Provided Services

  • Preliminary psychiatric evaluation, which includes a mental fitness examination.
  • Initial health records assessment and examination
  • Introductory psychosocial evaluation
  • EKG, labs, and another testing
  • Medical condition stabilization
  • Mental/emotional well-being stabilization
  • Eating disorder treatment includes medical, dietary, and psychological interventions.
  • Liquid, electrolyte, and early weight recovery for the body and brain
  • Initial re-feeding intervention, which may include N/G tube feeding if needed.
  • Self-defeating patterns of behavior can be addressed using pre-made clinical frameworks.
  • Comprehensive treatment plan formulation, including cooperation with other treatment teams
  • Initial coordination of care plans, disposal, follow-up, and aftercare
  • Discharge planning for the appropriate level of treatment or follow-up

Treatment Team

  • Primary therapists with a master’s or doctoral degree.
  • Dietitians with a license to practice
  • Psychiatrists and psychiatric registered nurses 
  • Medical professionals
  • Nurses
  • Experiential therapists (yoga, art, recreation therapy, RIMBA)
  • Technicians in charge of patient care

Individualized Care

  • A therapist with a license (4 times a week with at least one family counseling session)
  • Licensed dietitian
  • Medical check-ups
  • Psychiatric rounding is a term that refers to the process of gathering information from the psychological status of the patients (daily) 
  • Nursing care is available 24 hours a day, seven days

Group Counseling

  • Goal-setting and debriefing Setting
  • DBT/CBT skills group
  • Awareness and Balance group
  • Group for the open process
  • Movement therapy in a group (yoga, RIMBA)
  • Ceremonial gathering
  • Group for recreational art therapy
  • Body image group
  • Self-esteem group
  • Meeting of the community
  • Group for life skills
  • 12-Step Spirituality Group
  • Relapse prevention group
  • Recreation therapy practices that take place outside of the classroom

Comprehensive, Holistic, In-depth Care

A mental, physical, and psychosocial evaluation is the first step in our treatment approach. These preliminary tests assist us in developing a customized treatment strategy. We constantly monitor each patient for evidence of improvement as treatment advances, and we make adjustments to our treatment regimen as appropriate.

Types of Eating Disorders

A premium luxury inpatient ED treatment, we recognize that total healing requires incorporating all parts of a person’s life into the process of healing. Although our primary focus is on emotional and physical well-being, we also devote attention to each patient’s social and spiritual well-being. We want our patients to leave our inpatient eating disorder treatment center ready to live a rich and fulfilling life, not just return to their previous lives.

You can expect to regain psychological and physical well-being if you stick to your tailored treatment plan during and after your stay at an inpatient eating disorder treatment center. The program will help you master the skills you’ll need to prevent relapse once you go back home. You may have mixed feelings regarding admission and therapy; this is completely normal. Although treatment can be challenging at first, recovery has significant benefits and is always feasible. 

Even if you are first hesitant about bringing a change in your habits, your motivation to improve your eating habits is likely to grow as you move through the program. As they move through the treatment, most patients experience a sense of accomplishment and greater confidence in their ability to make a full recovery. You’ll get the most out of the program if you’re willing to put in the effort and be open to learning new methods to deal with your feelings, and then integrate what you’ve learned in the eating disorder program into your daily life.

Patient-Focused

If you have an eating problem, your complicated relationship with food, weight, form, and feelings is causing you and possibly your loved one pain. Our treatment goal is to help you normalize your eating habits, reduce your preoccupation with food and weight, and restore your weight if it has dropped too low. We’ll also talk about any co-existing medical or psychological disorders, as well as any eating disorder complications. This program’s framework is one of its strongest features, and it will help you reclaim control over your food and your life.

Anxiety and Depression Treatment

A psychiatrist serves as the attending faculty member and team leader. Those with an eating problem frequently develop psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety, and treatment is critical for a healthy recovery. Mood disorder treatment in groups may be recommended. Psychiatric medicine may be useful in alleviating these symptoms in some circumstances. Once you’ve been admitted, the attending physician will go through all of your current medications with you. Following a discussion with you, we may prescribe a trial of a new medicine or a change in medications. Standard psychological testing to assist you to understand your own vulnerabilities and strengths when dealing with life’s challenges may also be suggested.

Recovery of Function

Eating disorders can take up a lot of a person’s time and energy. This can result in a drop in social, academic, or vocational performance. Patients frequently describe feeling “trapped” or “derailed” as a result of their eating disorder. You’ll be able to work with specially qualified occupational therapists on setting suitable goals, updating resumes, job hunting, and re-entry into education. We think that you can recover completely from your eating problem and that your eating disorder will not have a permanent impact on your life.

Group Therapy

Patients on the unit in eating disorder programs participate in daily group meetings to discuss the difficulties of managing an eating problem and the effects it has on relationships, employment, and emotional life. Severe gatherings allow patients to learn from one another while also reducing the isolation and loneliness that can accompany these illnesses. More organized cognitive-behavioral therapy, discharge planning, family relations, body image, and stretch and relaxation groups are also available. You will engage in social eating skills and daily meal preparation groups at the Day Hospital (Partial Hospitalization Program), which will include ordering carry-out meals, grocery shopping, and eating in restaurants.

Participation of the family

High-end luxury inpatient facilities for eating disorders actively involve and incorporate family members of the affected person in the therapy team whenever possible. The upscale luxury inpatient eating disorder clinics employ a Maudsley family therapy strategy with teenage patients, which includes intense parent training. In addition, some residential eating disorder treatments work on the same principles with parents to help their children eat normally and correct eating disorder behaviors. Maudsley therapy is a family-based treatment that has been demonstrated to be successful for teenagers with eating problems. It was created at the Maudsley Hospital in London. A social worker and other members of the team will work with you and your families to analyze the effect of your condition and to assist your family in supporting you while you recover. Weekly special inpatient care for eating disorders with family therapy sessions and educational groups will be required of family members. If necessary, more meetings will be suggested as part of your treatment. All adolescent patients receive parent training as part of their treatment in specialized adolescent eating disorder inpatient treatment centers.

Patients with the most severe eating disorders benefit from intensive inpatient eating disorder treatment. Most would never need inpatient treatment, but for those who do, the care they get is lifesaving.

It’s critical to recognize when an individual can benefit from inpatient treatment. While determining the appropriate degree of treatment isn’t an exact science, here are five typical signs that could lead to an inpatient recommendation.

Low Body Mass

It may seem apparent, but being underweight can be highly dangerous. This is particularly true for individuals who keep a low weight for a long time or who lose a lot of weight quickly.

Athletes who are at or below 75 percent of their optimal body weight should seek inpatient therapy. This is a guideline for medical practitioners, not a rule. People with extremely low body weights have an increased risk of dizziness, fainting, osteoporosis, amenorrhea, and the more acute and life-threatening problems listed below.

Acid-base Imbalance

This is because electrolytes help our bodies conduct most of their metabolic tasks. For example, potassium regulates blood pressure and heart contraction, whereas calcium aids in blood clotting and cell division.

Restricting and urging might cause our systems to create too many or too few of these electrolytes. This is called an electrolyte imbalance and it can be fatal. Here are a few indications of electrolyte imbalance in eating disorder patients:

Purging practices like self-induced vomiting or laxative abuse can produce hypokalemia. Sudden death is caused by low potassium levels, which cause arrhythmias and heart weakness.

Purging can also induce hypernatremia (far too much salt in the blood). Consider it cellular dehydration. Hypernatremia can cause cramping, seizures, and comas.

Bradycardia

Did you realize eating problems can shrink your heart? It’s scary to consider, yet true.

Muscles weaken when we lose weight. The heart, which is a muscle, can shrink in circumstances of low body weight or considerable weight loss. We reduce our heart rate to safeguard the fragile cardiac muscle. Bradycardia is an abnormally slow heart rate.

Bradycardia is a serious sign of eating disorders. Arrhythmias can cause sudden cardiac arrest and death in people with heart rates in the 40s and below.

Psychiatric Disorder

Many people go to inpatient wards for psychiatric stabilization. For example, people with anorexia and depression may find that their depressed symptoms prevent them from participating or engaging meaningfully in lower levels of eating disorder care. Some of these people may need a hospital stay to settle their depression symptoms. An inpatient program may also be recommended for eating disorder patients who have suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

Reluctance to Seek Treatment

Sometimes people sent to an inpatient program are stable physically and psychiatrically but refuse to accept less intensive therapy. For example, someone in a residential or partial hospitalization program reports not eating for 24 hours and refusing all food and beverages. While this person’s health may be stable now, they may need to be admitted to a hospital to avoid further deterioration.

Ultimately, an eating disorder specialist can assess if someone requires inpatient eating disorder therapy or hospitalization. With this information, an eating disorder specialist can provide a suggestion for care based on the full person’s medical, psychological, and historical facts.

High-end luxury inpatient and residential treatment are particularly useful for those with eating disorders. The prevalence of  ED has raised the demand for therapy. Residential treatment is a stay at a mental health treatment center. Private accommodations, massage, and spa treatments, scenic surroundings, health clubs in addition to 5-star resort-like amenities along with specialized alternative treatments like meditation, mindfulness, tai chi, gourmet chef-prepared meals, and acupressure are available at premium high-end luxury residential treatment facilities.

Its function has changed dramatically since its inception. Traditionally, mental institutions were created to separate mentally ill people from the “normal” community.

Individuals must first recover to contribute to society and, more significantly, live happy and independent lives. Pain relief and mental well-being are provided in true letter and spirit by an upscale luxury residential treatment center for ED. Among them are:

  • Individual or group counseling is provided.
  • Medication Control (prescribed medications)
  • Learning to cope with and manage your destructive behavioral addictions
  • Relapse prevention. 

Many people who come to Balance Rehab Clinic carry responsibilities that place them under constant pressure. Some are entrepreneurs who manage teams and deadlines. Others are executives or public figures who face nonstop expectations and very little space to rest. These demands can quietly feed the perfectionism, fear, and emotional strain that often shape eating disorders. Even when life looks successful on the outside, the inner experience can feel heavy and overwhelming.

Balance offers a calm and private environment where clients can finally step away from pressure. Our treatment model is designed around one simple idea. People heal best when they feel safe, supported, and understood. Each person receives a personalized plan that includes medical care, nutrition support, and evidence-based therapies. We also use gentle holistic practices to help clients reconnect with their bodies and build a healthier relationship with food.

Our private residential setting creates the quiet space many clients need to reset. A high staff to client ratio means each person receives steady guidance throughout the day. With round-the-clock monitoring and a peaceful atmosphere, clients feel comfortable enough to explore the emotional roots of their eating disorder. This often leads to deeper and more lasting progress.

We support entrepreneurs, executives, high net worth individuals, and public figures who require privacy and flexible scheduling. Some clients need complete discretion. Others need time to continue managing essential responsibilities while in treatment. Balance provides a space where both of these needs can be met with care and respect.

Our goal is simple. We help each person regain physical strength, rebuild emotional stability, and return to life with more clarity and confidence. Healing is a journey. At Balance, no one takes that journey alone.

Eating Disorder

FAQs

What Does Eating Disorder Hospitalization Criteria Include?
If any of the below conditions exist, people with ED may undergo therapy or be admitted to an inpatient eating disorder hospital:
Unstable blood pressure or heart rate
Weight loss of a significant amount and/or a refusal to eat
Evident malnourishment
Inability to quit working out
Consumption of food necessitates monitoring (including tube feeding)
To avoid purging, there is a need for supervision.
There aren’t enough treatment choices close to home.
Other psychological issues that would necessitate hospitalization
Suicidal ideas with significant lethality or purpose are present.

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