More and more clinicians as well as researchers realize that anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa often are extremely difficult to treat and that the short-term outcome can be very misleading. In many cases these disordersprevail for a long period of time and can have serious consequences for the patient's further life. This book gives a detailed over- view oftoday's knowledge regarding the long-term outcome of the treatment of anorexic and bulimic patients, many of whom were treated in highly spezialized centers. Experts from bo- th Europe and the U.S. report on theirmost recent research. Their studies include medical as well as psychosocial and psychiatric aspects of eating disorders. Clinicians with long experience in the treatment of eating disorder patients discuss the important practical implications of these rese- arch findings. The information given in this book is helpful for both treatment and prevention of eating disorders. Finally, concrete guidelines show as how to conduct further follow-up studies in this field.