Eating Disorders Blog

Approximately 60 percent of women have food issues, according to a new survey conducted by the University of North Carolina. Included in the category of "food issues" are well-known disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, as well as not-so-well known behaviors.

According to the survey, some women with food issues are "secret eaters," some are "calorie prisoners" and some are "career dieters." Secret eaters stash food away and eat it only when alone. Calorie prisoners are obsessed with keeping track of every calorie consumed. And career dieters experience severe swings in weight as they go from one fad diet to the next. Experts warn that these categories may sound almost comical, but that the associated behaviors are serious and can lead to significant problems.

(Source: www.nbcdfw.com)

Labels: eating disorder, women, university of north carolina

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A recent study, conducted in Australia by Melbourne's RMIT and La Trobe universities, indicates that a majority of women are significantly dissatisfied with their bodies. More than two-thirds of women reported feeling uncomfortable looking at themselves naked. Approximately half of women reported feeling fat every day and desperately wanting to lose weight. One in three women reported regularly scrutinizing certain parts of their bodies to evaluate how much they could allow themselves to eat. Most women reported significant anxiety and distress related to dissatisfaction with their bodies. Only 10 percent of women who responded to the survey reported satisfaction with their weight.

(Source: www.news.com)

Labels: health, women

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A growing number of middle-aged women are suffering from eating disorders, according to a story appearing this week in the Winston-Salem Journal. According to nutritionist Debra Benfield, who was interviewed for the story, "This is a new phenomenon and it's on the increase." According to Benfield, who treats eating and body-weight problems, middle-aged women struggle with eating disorders for one of two reasons. In one case, women who previously had eating disorders and thought they had recovered may relapse due to stress, especially during times of transition (events like divorce, re-entering the workforce, or children leaving home).

In the other case, many women develop eating disorders as they try to fight the natural aging process. Benfield commented on the current social pressure to stay attractive despite age: "In our culture, remaining cute throughout midlife is a problem. & Our mothers didn't stay cute. It was OK to look like a mother when you reached 50. ... Now magazines and other media promote role models that don't fit our physiology. The average woman puts on 15 pounds at midlife, weight that is actually beneficial. The extra weight decreases the risk of broken bones and helps women fight illnesses."

(Source: www2.journalnow.com)

Labels: eating disorder, middle aged women, women

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Women who tell researchers that they have no weight problems and believe they do not struggle with poor body image actually do have issues with self-image, according to a new study from Brigham Young University.

• Dr. Mark Allen, Dr. Diane Spangler and their colleagues compared brain activity of women with eating disorders with a control group of women who said they had no such problems.
• The research team was surprised to see that the control group's brains activated when shown pictures of overweight women.

"When we scanned the women, they actually show that they were very concerned about being overweight or seeing overweight images, where the men were not at all," said Dr. Spangler. "There is so much bombardment of this 'thin ideal' and what your weight should be that it is showing up in the brains of women, even women don't feel like this is a concern for them."

Dr. Allen said that the findings suggest "there is a disconnection between a conscious evaluation of how your body image is and what is really going on, deep down inside, psychologically, and now we can see neurologically."

The study appears in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
 

Labels: self-esteem, body image, women

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment