What term describes an eating disorder where individuals have an irrational fear of weight gain and refuse to eat?

The term that describes an eating disorder characterized by an irrational fear of weight gain and a refusal to eat is anorexia. Anorexia nervosa is a severe mental health condition where individuals significantly restrict their food intake and may have a distorted body image, leading them to see themselves as overweight even when they are underweight. This disorder often includes extreme behaviors such as excessive exercise and an obsession with food and dieting.

In contrast, bulimia involves episodes of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as vomiting or excessive exercise, and binge-eating disorder entails episodes of eating large amounts of food without the purging behaviors associated with bulimia. Orthorexia is a focus on eating foods that one considers healthy, often leading to the exclusion of a wide variety of foods in an attempt to maintain a “perfect” diet. The defining features of anorexia, including the intense fear of gaining weight and refusal to maintain a healthy weight, make it the correct choice in this context.