Eating Disorders Blog

Recent research indicates that many overweight individuals, particularly women, don't work out because of emotional barriers that include self-consciousness, embarrassment and fear of failure.

A 2009 study by researchers at the George Washington University Medical Center found that many overweight people are particularly intimidated by working out in the presence of young people and those who are physically fit. A 2007 study by Temple University researchers found that overweight females were particularly likely to report that they were prevented from exercising by feelings of self-consciousness or fear of failure.

University of Detroit Mercy professor Carla Groh led a 12-week study of African-American women and found that the women were more successful when surrounded by others of similar size and with a similar desire to lose weight. For the study, Groh put a group of African-American women through 12 weeks of exercise, nutrition and group scripture readings.

Groh commented on the results: "They're all in the same boat, and it's really powerful. For the more overweight or obese, it seems it is more helpful for them to find a group of like-minded and like-shaped people who can really support each other."

(Source: www.azcentral.com)

Labels: emotions, exercise

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Researchers at Missouri University (MU) found in a recent study that deactivating the brain region involved with emotion could block the consumption of certain foods, but may not stop the craving for those foods.

Matthew Will, an assistant professor of psychological sciences at MU, described the experiment as possibly "short-circuiting" the brain networks which are associated with shifting from craving to consumption.

The experiment was conducted using rats. In both rats and humans, the brain releases chemicals known as opioids, which reward certain behaviors. Opioids have been shown to trigger binge eating in non-hungry rats and humans.

"The hope is that the more detailed we can biologically define the feeding process from beginning to end, the more we will understand how to address a feeding disorder such as overeating," Will said. "Since overeating is not a product of a hunger epidemic in this country but rather an addiction to food, this model is trying to figure out what in the brain regulates this latter type of feeding."

(Source: www.columbiamissourian.com)

Labels: binge-eating, emotions, opioids, brain chemistry

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Many people have trouble understanding anorexia. The solution can seem so simple - just eat! But, as many health experts know, anorexia is more complex than a simple choice or even a behavior. In the words of Marilyn Clark, a registered nurse and counselor with a small Canadian eating disorders treatment provider, "an eating disorder is not a behavior; it's an illness, an emotional illness." In other words, expecting an individual who suffers from anorexia to simply eat is like asking an individual with clinical depression to simply be happy. What people need to understand, Clark believes, is that "underneath all eating disorders is emotional turmoil." (Source: www.brantfordexpositor.ca)

Labels: anorexia, emotions, mental-illness

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

If children get teased about their weight at school, they are more likely develop negative feelings about their bodies. This negative body image can, in turn, lead to disordered eating and related mental health issues, according to a new study from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

• Dr. Timothy Nelson studied hundreds of children whose average age was 11 years old
• Dr. Nelson compared his subjects' actual heights and weights with their perceptions of their bodies.
• If children were teased and criticized by peers, they were more likely to be less satisfied with the size of their bodies and to judge their physical selves more harshly.

"Weight-related criticism is one of the last socially acceptable forms of criticism," Dr. Nelson said. "There's often a sense that overweight people 'deserve' it or if they are prodded about their weight, they'll do something about it. Our research suggests that this kind of criticism tends to increase the victim's dissatisfaction, which has shown to be a factor in poorer outcomes with pediatric weight management programs. It becomes something of a vicious cycle."

This study appears in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
 

Labels: body image, emotions, schools

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments