Treating people with eating disorders id not always possible and studies have shown that treatment only works on 60% of people with disorders. By the treatment actually working, it means they are able to get back to and stay steady at a healthy weight as well as keep normal eating habits. Their relationships improve with their families and friends and their careers blossom.

The treatment has different levels and even the more intense treatments and programs yield 20% of people not being able to recover fully. They continue to worry about eating too much and they constantly monitor their weight. There relationships and work do improve drastically compared to how they were but are not quite at their full potential.

The last 20% of people that go through treatment show no improvement whatsoever and continue to keep food and their weight as the center focus of their lives. This is not a good statistic because those with eating issues that don't get treatment will die early. If they stay in therapy and are cured their chances of fatality drop down to 2-3%.

When people go through treatment for an eating disorder there is no set plan that everyone can follow. It varies from person to person since everyone is unique and has different reasons for why they have problems with their food and weight. It is usually a good idea to have a number of people in your life helping someone get over their disorder such as a doctor, therapist, dietitian and anyone else that can provide support to help someone change for the better. Counseling can help a lot as well and is recommended in one on one as well as group sessions.

Some of the goals set forth by this group of people helping are to:

- Get the person in treatment to get back to a normal weight for their age and height.

- Them being able to have normal eating habits such as eating all types of food rather than just those low in calories and fat.

- Re-building and strengthening relationships with friends and family.

- Learning how to deal with emotions and to cope when they feel anxious when they feel like they use to when they had the disorder.

The main eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. They all have different reasons for happening to a person as well as having different treatments to help recover.

Anorexia is a very serious issue and 25% of people with it have to be checked into a facility to recover or until they get back to 85% of their normal weight. Outpatient programs are also good for those that have not lost too much weight. Drug therapy has not been effective with anorexia but can be prescribed for depression issues. The treatment for anorexia often includes therapy, counseling and nutrition therapy.

Bulimia treatment is similar to anorexia but is most often an outpatient process. Psychotherapy, and group counseling are common effective treatments as well as drugs prescribed for psychological issues and depression. Prozac is one of the main drugs and was approved specifically for bulimia.