In our continuing effort to provide information related to Social Security’s new listings on mental impairments we are going to look at changes made to the listing for eating disorders. And, as just a reminder, Social Security’s set of listings are used in evaluating disability claims judging a condition’s severity and how it limits a person’s ability to function. We will post the current listing for eating disorders and the new listing, which will take effect January 17, 2017.
Current Eating Disorder Listing
- Eating disorders. In cases involving anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, the primary manifestations may be mental or physical, depending upon the nature and extent of the disorder. When the primary functional limitation is physical; e.g., when severe weight loss and associated clinical findings are the chief cause of inability to work, we may evaluate the impairment under the appropriate physical body system listing. Of course, we must also consider any mental aspects of the impairment, unless we can make a fully favorable determination or decision based on the physical impairment(s) alone.
New Eating Disorder Listing
12.13 Eating disorders (see 12.00B10), satisfied by A and B:
- Medical documentation of a persistent alteration in eating or eating-related behavior that results in a change in consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical or psychological health .
AND
- Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning (see 12.00F):
- Understand, remember, or apply information (see 12.00E1).
- Interact with others (see 12.00E2).
- Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace (see 12.00E3).
- Adapt or manage oneself (see 12.00E4)
As you can see, the new eating disorder listing is a bit more specific as it indicates there may be both physical and mental health aspects to impairments. As an example, a change in food consumption must impair physical or psychological health as well as qualify for two of the following mental functioning areas above.
