Eating Disorders
Adolescent Eating Disorders Continue into Adulthood
Eating disorder experts are beginning to see a significant increase in the number of adults who are being admitted for treatment. While it is common for eating disorders to develop during adulthood, especially following a traumatic event like a divorce or death of an immediate family member, often the adult is experiencing a resurfacing of eating disorder symptoms that first emerged during adolescence.
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American Medical Association Calls for Limits to Photoshopping
In the magazine industry, Photoshopping has become rampant. Images are never what they seem; women who seem too beautiful or too thin to be real probably aren’t. Because teens and children may not be able to understand the extent to which pictures have been altered, they may expect that they should be able to pull off a similar look as they grow older.
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American Academy of Pediatrics Releases Childhood Eating Disorder Data
Those in the eating disorder treatment industry have known anecdotally that there are increasing numbers of children being enrolled in treatment for eating disorders. However, recent information released by the American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that the prevalence of eating disorders in children is increasing at shocking rates.
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Study Finds that Food Produces Anxiety in Those with Anorexia Nervosa
Although many people find it difficult to diet and lose weight, people suffering from anorexia nervosa can actually diet themselves to death, and many die from starvation and its effects on the body. A new study gives insight as to why these symptoms can occur in people with anorexia.
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Regular Dieting Increases Risk of Eating Disorders
Eating disorders have often been linked to extreme behaviors used to control caloric intake. Methods like avoiding meals, extreme exercise, and taking laxatives or purging are all behaviors associated with eating disorders.
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Family Meals Encourage Healthy Eating
Many families are on the run, stopping at a drive-thru between soccer practice and piano lessons. Other families may leave a pot on the stove, but it’s up to each person to grab their food and head off to different corners of the house to settle in front of their favorite TV show.
Spring Births May Increase Chances of Developing Anorexia
A new study has found that anorexia nervosa, a serious eating disorder that can result in death, is more common among people born in spring months. Researchers from Oxford University said their study, the largest to date, provides clear evidence of a “season of birth” effect in anorexia.
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“Secondhand Television” Increases Risk for Eating Disorders
The effects of secondhand smoke have been well-documented, with many research studies showing the risks to exposure to other people’s cigarettes. Now, however, it turns out that another potentially harmful effect may be tied to secondhand television exposure. While the effects of secondhand television are not directly impacting physical well-being as cigarettes do, it may be psychologically damaging.
A study conducted in Fiji during the 1990s documented the effects of introducing the television to a community who had never been exposed to its images. Because television had not been used on the particular island, and because the culture was one that valued a robust physical shape, it was ideal for identifying the trends in disordered eating behaviors that followed television watching.
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Peer Pressure Can Be Healthy
Individuals with eating disorders often struggle in isolation. The shame that is associated with anorexia and bulimia nervosa often keep the disorders a secret for many years, and as the problems progress, social networks often suffer. Some research has shown that people who have eating disorders also have an associated difficulty with social interactions.
A new study may show support for engaging eating disorder patients with a network of healthy social contacts. The study indicates that being around friends with healthy habits in the areas of nutrition and exercise may be useful in helping get disordered eating behaviors re-directed and replaced with healthy habits.
The study was recently published in BioMed Central’s open access International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. It found that both physical activity levels and eating behaviors were strongly influenced by social norms. The study’s findings indicate that hanging out with people who are as healthy as you would like to be may be the best strategy for getting fit.
Lead researcher Kylie Ball of Deakin University in Australia explains that there has been extensive research recently in the area examining the importance of social network when it comes to physical activity and healthy eating. However, Ball and colleagues conducted one of the first studies to demonstrate a connection between social support and social norms with exercise and eating choices.
The study recruited women aged 18 to 46 years old and tested the extent to which healthy behaviors within a person’s social network influenced their own lifestyle choices. The participants asked to rate their agreement with statements like "I often see other people walking in my neighborhood" and "lots of women I know eat fast food often."
The women who reported a healthy circle of social contacts were more likely to eat well and get more exercise. Ball explains that the findings may indicate a contagion occurring with healthy behaviors.
Ball says that the findings suggest potential in the area of modification of social norms as an intervention for healthy eating and physical activity.
The findings may also be helpful in understanding the ways that eating disorders develop, change and how they may be treated. A support network centered on an eating disorder patient’s contacts with healthy habits may be helpful in preventing relapse once a patient has finished treatment. Research has shown clustering of eating disorder cases in counties, indicating that both healthy and unhealthy habits have the potential to be contagious.
Students Willing to Pay a High Price to be Ideal Weight
Major transitions in life are often the perfect breeding ground for eating disorders. Though adolescence is a time when eating disorders emerge, there are also other times when symptoms are likely to appear. A loss of a loved one or a divorce can even spur a change that leads to disordered eating patterns. The transition to college is another time when many young people find themselves struggling with disordered eating.
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