<p>Objectives : In patients with eating disorders, the high rate of interrupted or unattended medical care is problematic. The underlying reasons and the kinds of treatment and support patients seek have not yet been clarified. This study aimed to identify the underlying factors that may encourage patients with eating disorders who do not seek medical care to seek support.</p><p>Methods : We conducted a web-based survey of patients with suspected eating disorder and their families. The survey items included basic attributes, hospital visit status, reasons for interruption or non-attendance, help-seeking scales, patients’ support needs for consulting a doctor at the time of the survey and when their symptoms had been most severe. Two hundred and sixty-four patients (mean age, 30.6±9.6 yo) and 115 family members (mean age, 49.5±10.8 yo) participated. This study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committees of the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, and Atomi University.</p><p>Results : The disease subtypes among the participants included 155 with anorexia nervosa, 98 with bulimia nervosa, 45 with binge eating disorder, 74 in recovery, and 7 were unknown. Moreover, 169 patients were currently visiting the hospital, 64 were not receiving treatment, 143 were interrupted, and 3 responded with “others”. The most common reason for not visiting the hospital was “I feel uncomfortable going to a psychiatrist or psychosomatic physician”, while the most common reason for discontinuation was “symptoms did not improve”. There was no significant difference in the help-seeking scores according to patients’ hospitalization status or disease subtypes. In terms of support needs, only “information about a nearby psychiatrist or psychosomatic physician who does not specialize in eating disorders” was more needed at the time of the survey, than “interruption of consultation” or “hospital visit”. In contrast, “provision of information to family members to help them support the patient”, “information about medical institutions with eating disorder specialists”, and “medical institutions that check the patient’s physical condition” were more needed by the participants when the illness was most severe. During severe illness, the need for “information for family members to support the patient”, “information on medical institutions with eating disorder specialists”, and “information on medical institutions that check the patient’s physical condition” were lower for participants who had not received medical care than for those who had interrupted medical care or were visiting hospitals at the time of the survey.</p><p>Conclusion : The results indicate that the patient’s help-seeking trait is not an important factor in receiving medical treatment. In contrast, the results suggest the importance of providing information regarding clinics close to the patients, educating patients to reduce stigma, and building a medical system to reduce patients’ disappointment in the medical care they receive.</p>