Some experts warn, however, that an emphasis on calories and the public posting of calorie content may be provoking a wave of disordered eating, even among college students with no previous history of eating disorders.
Eating disorder specialists are seeing a decline in cases of classic eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa (restrictive eating) and bulimia nervosa (binge-eating and purging). At the same time, such specialists report that the number of patients presenting with "eating disorders not otherwise specified" (EDNOS) - disordered eating behaviors that do not meet all of the clinical criteria for anorexia or bulimia - appears to have doubled.
EDNOS is a catch-all category of eating disorders that includes many of the same behaviors as bulimia and anorexia. EDNOS may include drastic weight loss, caloric restriction, binge-eating, purging, drastic dieting, vomiting, overuse of laxatives and compulsive over-exercising. The proportion of students engaging in at least one of these drastic weight-loss measures has increased from approximately 28 to 38 percent in recent years, according to the American College Health Association's annual survey.
College students who are recovering from eating disorders report that publicly posted calorie charts can act as strong triggers for unhealthy behaviors. Other experts worry that even overweight and obese students may get the wrong idea from the postings. A recent study by a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found that about 40 percent of overweight college-age women and about 20 percent of college-age men engaged in disordered eating behaviors in an attempt to slim down.
Dr. Richard Kreipe, a professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center and a specialist in adolescent medicine whose research centers on eating disorders, doesn't believe that calorie information benefits students.
"Nutrition is not a simple thing that can be distilled down into a label," he says. "There's a tendency for people to over-interpret what a specific number means."
(Source: www.blog.newsweek.com)
Labels: eating disorder
Posted By: Aspen Education Group