Within diagnostic work, counselors must distinguish between eating disorders by identifying core diagnostic features. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight, a disturbance in the way one’s body weight or shape is experienced, and, critically, an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even when underweight. That intense fear is central to both the client’s experience and the clinical diagnosis, making Option B correct.
Option A (repeatedly regurgitating food for at least one month) aligns more with rumination disorder, not anorexia nervosa.
Option C is incorrect: anorexia is more frequently associated with higher-income, industrialized societies, not predominantly low-income countries.
Option D (binge eating) is more characteristic of bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder; while some people with anorexia (binge-eating/purging type) may binge, it is not the defining feature.
Correctly identifying hallmark symptoms like fear of weight gain reflects the NBCC Intake, Assessment and Diagnosis expectation that counselors accurately recognize and differentiate mental disorders when formulating diagnoses and treatment plans.
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