Eating Disorders
“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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Restricting Insulin to Control Weight: The Addiction of Diabulimia
Type 1 diabetics use insulin to help their bodies process sugar from foods, allowing the sugar to be absorbed from the bloodstream. When insulin doses are reduced or eliminated, the glucose passes through the blood and is eliminated in urine, significantly limiting the number of calories absorbed by the diabetic.
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Study Quantifies Eating Disorders in Adolescent Population
Adolescence is a time of life where young people are encountering many types of changes in their lives. Besides physical maturation, adolescents are also pushing the limits of independence and leaving elementary school for middle school, where increased expectations and responsibilities often results in new stress.
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Binge Eaters’ Brains React Strongly to Food
When binge eaters complete treatment for an eating disorder and return to normal life, they often struggle with repeated relapses back into the disordered eating behavior. Training patients to control their responses to stimuli that induce binge eating is regularly included in treatment, helping patients recognize the triggers that precede their bingeing episodes.
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Eating Disorders Starting at Younger Ages
While society has an idea about the age of the typical eating disorder sufferer, making this assumption in every situation could actually put the individual at risk. According to this Gaston Gazette report, eating disorders are starting with the young.
Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment and Eating Disorders
Treating eating disorders can be very challenging. Especially among those with anorexia, there is a high relapse rate, because patients often have a very difficult time applying what they have learned in treatment when they re-enter normal life.
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Young Girls with ADHD at Risk for Eating Disorders
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affects many young school-age children with approximately 5 percent of children affected by the condition. Because three times as many boys are affected as girls, the effects on girls have not been fully explored.
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Survey Finds Link Between Shoplifting and Eating Disorders
For the individual struggling with an eating disorder, she may already have enough on her mind without adding to her problems. According to a recent MDN report, however, there has been a link identified between shoplifting and eating disorders in women.
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