Eating Disorders Blog

Treating eating disorders in young people can be more challenging than treating adults, according to a report in Bloomberg's Business Week.

"Disorders that start when you are young in adolescence, no matter what the disorder, are always harder to treat and harder to recover from," according to Dr. David Schlager, a professor at Texas A&M Health Service Center College of Medicine. "There are so many crucial things going on, so much pressure to establish yourself in various ways."

The most recent research using brain scan technology shows that adolescent brains react differently than adults' partly because the human brain does not fully mature until age 25 years old. Teens require special kinds of treatment.

Teens with eating disorders have the added problems of being unable to concentrate. They are usually irritable, depressed, and anxious, according to Dr. Andrea Vazzana, professor of child development and adolescent psychiatry at New York University. She also pointed out that research about eating disorders is about adults, and no one is sure if the same therapies used on adults are effective in teenagers and children.
 

Labels: treatment, teen

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Some adults are such picky eaters that they develop some symptoms of eating disorders, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Duke University and University of Pittsburgh are setting up a website to both study and help picky eaters.

Picky eaters often limit themselves to a few foods, which in turn can affect their social and professional lives. Having such limitations is one of the criteria for diagnosing eating disorders. Picky eaters often do not get proper nutrition because they do not eat a variety of foods.

Picky eaters are not necessarily overly thin or obsessed with counting calories, fat grams or carbohydrates, which is often a symptom of anorexia. However, some limit themselves to a certain texture of food; for example, they consume only creamy or crunchy foods. Some limit themselves to just one taste, such as salty or sweet. Many picky eaters claim that they get nauseous when they try a new food.

Some therapists believe that picky eaters may be suffering from a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
 

Labels: nutrition, symptoms, diet

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments

Type I diabetes is the kind that develops in childhood. Young people with the disease must inject themselves with insulin every day, and they must monitor their blood sugar levels, because their bodies produce little or no insulin.

Some children with Type I diabetes skip their insulin injections as a means of weight control, once they figure out that insulin encourages their bodies to store fat. This behavior is sometimes referred to as "diabulimia."

Diabulimia is most common among diabetic girls and young women. It is dangerous because insufficient insulin causes higher blood sugar levels than are healthy. This in turn leads to a breakdown of muscle tissue, and damage to the kidneys and eyes.

Physicians do not recognize diabulimia as a formal medical condition in the same way they identify eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. However, the behavior is becoming more prevalent, and parents of diabetic children should be aware of the problem .
 

Labels: diabetes, diabulimia

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People who survive sexual abuse are more prone to suicide, anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression and eating disorders, according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic.

Ali Zirakzadeh and his colleagues found that sexual abuse runs as high as 21% in adults and 33% in children.

"Survivors of sexual abuse are commonly seen in general medical practice," he said. "Sexual abuse survivors face a challenging spectrum of physical and mental health symptoms, which results in high health care utilization, often times without improvement in their quality of life."

The study was published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
 

Labels: trauma, depression, sexual assault

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Last year, actor Dennis Quaid admitted that he had struggled for years with anorexia. His shocking confession opened the door for other men – young and old – to come forward and admit they needed help, too.

“Recent studies show that men account for up to 15 percent of those with eating disorders, yet men account for very few patients in treatment. Less than three per cent of referrals to B.C.’s [British Columbia’s] eating disorders program at St. Paul’s Hospital are male, according to Paul Gallant, a leader of mental health programs for Providence Health.” Source: The Edmonton Journal]

Unfortunately, even when men do come forward and admit needing help, few treatment options are available to them. Still, help for men with eating disorders is available -- and anyone (male or female) who is struggling with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating or related conditions needs to know that professional help can lead them back to health.

Labels: awareness, men

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Anorexia nervosa is primarily a disease of the mind. Doctors have known this for years. Now, improvements in MRI technology are helping doctors focus in on the biological – and possibly genetic – links to the disease.

“In one study, participants were given a taste of sugar. In healthy people, the insula and frontal cortex areas of the brain lit up, signaling ‘Wow, that tastes good.’ That pleasure light didn’t turn on in the anorexic’s brain. Dr. [Walter] Kaye says they may literally not recognize when they’re hungry or when something tastes good.” [Source: KABC-TV (L.A.)]

Not only is the MRI enabling doctors to study brain activity and genetic traits that may make a person pre-disposed to anorexia, it also allows them to develop new biological treatments, and not just psychological ones.

Labels: anorexia, genetics

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in partnership with the Stanford University School of Medicine has conducted the first-ever large-scale analysis of pro-eating disorder websites. Many sites were found to have an odd mix of both weight-loss and recovery tips.

“The paper reports on 180 Web sites that were found using search terms such as ‘Pro-ana’… The researchers evaluated each site’s basic logistics; accessories such as interactive forums or calorie counters; themes (including control, success and perfection); ‘thinspiration’ images, tips and techniques for weight loss; and recovery information. They assigned each site a ‘perceived harm’ score based on their assessment of how harmful the site would be to users.” [Source: MediLexicon]

About one-quarter of the sites scored high on the “perceived harm” scale, while most fell somewhere in the middle. Interestingly, most of the site recognized eating disorders as illnesses, and about one-third of them offered recovery information.


 

Labels: pro-anorexia, internet

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A study out of Johns Hopkins University is analyzing the content of over 150 websites that promote anorexic and bulimic behaviors. Researchers hope the information will help them better understand the influence such sites have over people who are developing, or have, eating disorders.

“The lead author of the study, Dina L.G. Borzekowski, an associate professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health, Behavior and Society, is in the final phases of completing another study that explores the effects of pro-eating disorders websites on young people.” [Source: The Baltimore Sun]

Pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia websites remain particularly problematic in the effort to combat eating disorders. More than 90 percent of the sites reviewed contained dangerous and damaging material, and even some interactive features that allowed people to calculate their body mass index and the number of calories they eat in a day.

Labels: pro-anorexia, internet, pro-bulimia

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The Australian government has enacted a new code that encourages the beauty and fashion industries away from “ultra-skinny” models. It also discourages the use of digitally-enhanced photographs.

“The code, which is not compulsory, also calls for fashion magazines to stop advertising rapid weight-loss diets and cosmetic surgery. Editorial content that may promote a negative body image is also a no-no.” [Source: New Zealand Herald]

Australian Federal Youth Minister Kate Ellis says the newly-passed code is the government’s way of pressuring the fashion and beauty industries to make a “genuine commitment” to support healthy body images. Lynda Williams, Auckland, New Zealand’s Women’s Health Council coordinator hopes her country’s government will soon pass a similar measure.

Labels: media, model, size-zero

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A new study that followed girls with anorexia from age 14 to 30 years old found that 67% experienced major depression, and 73% suffered from anxiety disorders.

• A team of researchers from Goteborg Sweden recruited 51 girls with anorexia when they were 14 years old.
• The girls were not as severely ill as those who have to be hospitalized.
• All the girls were treated within their communities and none died in the course of the study.

The Swedish study was the first to consider autism spectrum and anorexia, and the main finding was that girls with both autism and anorexia have poorer outcomes. Poorer outcomes were also linked to having a younger age of onset of anorexia, a lower weight (BMI) and/or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

By age 30, 12% still had eating disorders, 39% met criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, and 25% were unemployed due to a psychiatric disorder.

The study appears in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Labels: girls, anxiety disorders, depression

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The prevalence of eating disorders is 50 percent higher among Orthodox Jewish girls than in the general population. After being approached by the Jewish Orthodox Union with this problem, the Philadelphia-based Renfrew Center is starting a specialized treatment programs geared specifically for this group of patients .

"It took a lot of courage for the Orthodox Union to approach us," said Adrienne Ressler, Renfrew's training director. "We wanted to help families get past the shame of admitting the problem."

Treating Orthodox Jewish girls with eating disorders is complicated by factors including the community's kosher food rules and the complexity of a tight-knit culture.

"The control of food that is necessary in Judaism is very different than the control around someone with an eating disorder," said Dr. David Hahn, a psychiatrist specializing in eating disorders. "It may look the same, but it's not."

Labels: girls, risks, jewish

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment