A recent poll of teenage girls shows that nine out of 10 feel pressured to be skinny by the fashion and media industries, and that an unattainable image of female beauty is perpetuated by these industries.

The poll, which included responses from 1,000 teenage girls between the ages of 13 and 17, was conducted for Girl Scouts USA by the youth research firm TRU. More than 75 percent of respondents said that fashion is "really important" to them.

Kimberlee Salmond, a senior researcher at the Girl Scout Research Institute, commented on the poll's findings: "The fashion industry remains a powerful influence on girls and the way they view themselves and their bodies. Teenage girls take cues about how they should look from models they see in fashion magazines and on TV and it is something that they struggle to reconcile with when they look at themselves in the mirror."

More than 80 percent of respondents said that they would rather see natural photos of models rather than digitally altered or enhanced photos. In addition, more than 75 percent of girls said they would be more likely to buy clothes that they see worn by real-size models than clothes that they see on ultra-thin models.

A significant percentage of respondents also reported experiencing or witnessing disordered eating behaviors. One in three respondents reported refusing to eat in an effort to lose weight; about half said they knew someone their age who has vomited after eating to lose weight; and more than one-third said they know someone who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
Aside from celebrities and models, respondents reported that peers, friends and parents are the top influences with regard to body image.

(Source: www.reuters.com)

Labels: body image, eating disorder, fashion, media, teen

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) will be sponsoring the 23rd annual Eating Disorders Awareness Week from February 21-27, 2010. The national event is designed to raise awareness about eating disorders, to combat unrealistic "body-perfect" ideals, and to counter the shame-filled and secretive attitudes that many people have regarding these life-threatening illnesses.

Lynn Grefe, CEO of NEDA, commented on the event and this year's theme, "It's Time to Talk About It." She said, "It really is time to talk about eating disorders, because people die, with anorexia having the highest death rate of any mental illness. You wouldn't be ashamed of developing asthma, diabetes, cancer or hundreds of other medical conditions.

"The sooner we get people to talk about it, the sooner we can get people to the help they need. It is necessary to educate upcoming generations about the issues that surround and lead to eating disorders. And to do that, we also need to address the societal pressures and the unrealistic images we are bombarded with in the media that have been irrefutably and scientifically proven a contributing factor among people who develop eating disorders, depression and other esteem issues."

To highlight the week, volunteers are coordinating events nationwide, including seminars and workshops on college campuses and in other venues, film festivals, health fairs and screenings, awareness walks, candlelight vigils, fundraisers, and artistic performances.

(Source: www.theopenpress.com)

Labels: anorexia, awareness, eating disorder

This week, France's Agency for the Sanitary Safety of Health Products (AFSSAPS) removed the weight-loss drug sibutramine from its list of approved medications. Sibutramine has been sold in France under the name Sibutral since 2001. The move comes in advance of an expected Europe-wide ban by the European Union’s Health Commission. Great Britain has already banned the use of sibutramine.

Long-term studies by the AFSSAPS indicate that sibutramine may cause negative cardiovascular effects in almost half of patients. Other side effects linked to the drug include increased blood pressure, stomach and muscle pain, nausea, and mood changes including depression. Sibutramine also interacts unfavorably with a variety of other medications, making it difficult to prescribe safely.

European officials also report cases of sibutramine poisoning, linked to illegal imports of dietary supplements from China and Africa.

Britain's European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the suspension of sibutramine use and all drugs containing sibutramine, such as Reductil, Reduxade and Zelium. The EMA states that the drug presents risks which outweigh its benefits and that the drug has minimal weight-loss effect in most patients, mainly because patients immediately gain back any weight lost as soon as they discontinue the drug.

Sibutramine, which is manufactured by American pharmaceutical company Abbott, is also controversial in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently acknowledged that sibutramine may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with a history of cardiovascular problems.

(Source: www.fleshandstone.net)

Labels: Sibutral, sibutramine, weight loss drugs

New Hampshire is considering new legislation which would require obesity screenings for first, fourth, seventh and tenth graders.

Students in these grades would be measured for body mass index (BMI). BMI is the ratio of weight to height squared, and is a commonly used method of assessing obesity because it is easy to measure and it correlates with body fat, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr. Susan Lynch, a pediatrician and wife of New Hampshire's governor, John Lynch, is a chief proponent of the legislation. Dr. Lynch believes that BMI is a more informative measurement of a child's health than weight alone, and that taking the measurement periodically may help parents and teachers identify and address health risks for children who are underweight or overweight.

As part of the program, parents would receive the results of BMI screenings in a health report containing measurements from other health screenings. Parents would have the option to order schools not to do BMI screenings based on religious objections. The school board, the superintendent and the state Department of Education would compile a report of aggregate results so that no single child would be identified.

According to the CDC, the obesity rate among children ages 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the past 20 years. During the same period, the obesity rate among adolescents ages 12 to 19 has more than tripled. In 2003, Arkansas became the first state to require obesity screenings for school-age children.

(Source: www.boston.com)

Labels: childhood-obesity, obesity, schools

Obese patients with kidney tumors are 48 percent more likely to develop clear-cell renal cell cancer (RCC) than patients with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30. In addition, the odds of developing clear-cell RCC increase by 4 percent with every extra BMI point.

These findings come from a study conducted by a research team at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. The study included data collected from 1,640 patients with kidney tumors. Approximately 88 percent of the participants had malignant tumors, and 61 percent of these were clear-cell RCC. Researchers found a substantial association between obesity and the risk for developing clear-cell RCC.

Lead author William T. Lowrance commented on the findings: "A number of studies have suggested that obesity could be a risk factor for RCC, but the exact reason is unknown. Researchers suggest it might be secondary to hormonal changes, decreased immune function, hypertension or diabetes in obese patients.

"Although we still need to find out more about the pathology of clear-cell RCC, this study is useful as it provides individual predictors of the chance of developing this form of cancer. Of these, obesity provides the strongest association."

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: cancer, obesity

Sky-high obesity rates in the United States appear to be stabilizing, according to new data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the data, one out of every three American adults is obese, and two out of three are overweight. In addition, 17 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese.

Obesity rates among adults and children have increased dramatically since 1980. However, obesity rates for women and children have not changed measurably within the last decade, and for men the rate has remained fairly stable for the past five years.

Although experts are glad that rates are not climbing any higher, they warn that there is little to celebrate. Dr. Scott Kahan, M.D., the co-director of the George Washington University Weight Management Program in Washington, D.C., commented: "The obesity rates have somewhat leveled off, and for the most part that's good, but the bad news is that they have leveled off at a prevalence rate that is alarmingly high. We have a lot of work to do, and this has to be a national priority to move forward from here."

(Source: www.cnn.com)

Labels: obesity

A new study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) may help teen girls who are at risk for obesity to avoid weight gain. Study author Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, Ph.D., and colleagues at the NIH conducted a pilot study that included 38 girls ages 12 to 17.

Participating teens had body mass indices (BMIs) in the 75th to 97th percentile as well as loss-of-control (LOC) eating habits. Participants were divided into two groups: One group received standard health education classes, while the other group received 12 sessions of IPT over 12 weeks. All participants were followed for six months; 35 were followed for one year.

The researchers discovered that girls who received IPT were less likely to report an increase in BMI than those in the health education group. In addition, researchers noted that girls at risk for excessive weight gain in the IPT group had fewer episodes of LOC eating than their counterparts in the health education group.

The authors wrote about the results: "In this pilot study for the prevention of excess weight gain in adolescent girls, we found both IPT and a standard-of-care health education program to be feasible and acceptable to participants. In a pre-specified secondary analysis, we found very preliminary support that IPT-WG may reduce LOC eating and prevent excess BMI gain."

(Source: www.modernmedicine.com)

Labels: obesity, teen, therapy