A new study out of Chiba University in Japan has found that women with anorexia have different levels of a certain type of brain protein, suggesting a possible underlying biological cause.

BDNF [brain-derived neurotrophic factor] is a protein made in the brain that is important for the growth and survival of neurons during development, and the researchers found that women with low BDNF also had the lowest self-image, suffered from anxiety and depression, and performed poorly on certain tests of cognitive ability. (Source: News-Medical.net)

Researchers are unclear what role BDNF plays in anorexia -- for example, whether it's a trigger, a result, or some other type of indicator -- and say more study is needed.

Labels: brain_chemistry

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Stephanie Pratt, one of the stars of the reality show "The Hills," has revealed that she has been struggling with the eating disorder bulimia nervosa. Pratt discussed her eating disorder in an interview that appeared in the June 17 edition of US Weekly magazine:

The 5-foot-7 23-year-old reveals she began bingeing and purging after watching a scene she shot with Lauren Conrad in 2007 after first joining the cast: "I was horrified. I remember saying, 'I can't believe how huge I look walking over to Lauren.'"

Another time, when filming in Hawaii in bikinis, the size 0-2 Pratt - in a bikini and cover-up -- asked costar Audrina Patridge, "What looks better, shirt on or off?" Patridge said, "On."

Says Pratt, "The producers never put pressure on us to lose weight," but adds, "It's embarrassing working with skinny girls."

Though the cover of US Magazine features a photo of Pratt alongside the headline "The Hills Made Me Bulimic," she told MTV News that she didn't blame the show for her disorder.

"'The Hills' did not make me bulimic," Pratt said in a June 17 interview with MTV's Jocelyn Vena. "It was my own issues with self-esteem, and if anything, my life on 'The Hills' has only helped me get healthy, 'cause I know how lucky I am to have this job and to have the chance to be a role model."

Labels: bulimia, celebrities

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A nationwide survey in Canada will attempt to paint a clearer picture of eating disorders among young people. It will be the first-ever attempt to measure rates of bulimia in children ages five to eighteen:

The study is driven by a recent trend noticed by doctors who see eating disorders appear at earlier ages among children.

Researchers at [a] Toronto [hospital] were recently surprised to find binging and purging in children much younger than 12, an age previously believed to be about the lowest threshold for such behaviors. (Source: Canada.com)

Dr. Leora Pinhas, psychiatric director of the eating disorders program at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, told Canada.com that he hopes the study will help doctors better understand how widespread the issue of bulimia is, and which children are most susceptible.

Labels: eating disorders, youth, canda, study

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Many media images promote body dissatisfaction -- and may encourage the onset of eating disorders -- among boys, girls, men, and women. In order to offset these unhealthy influences and promote more productive self-image, a North Carolina health center is hosting a "Love Your Body" workshop at the end of July.

The June 18 edition of theAsheville Citizen-Times provided the following information about the event:

Join Aubrey Ray at Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center July 29 to learn how to improve your body image, self-esteem, and overall health and well being. Ray will present "Love Your Body!" during the monthly Diabetes Support Group and Education Series. ...

Many things contribute to how a woman feels about her body. Peer pressure, family history, education, stage of life, ethnic, culture, and social status all play important roles in how people feel about how they look.

Improper balance can lead to problems such as eating disorders, which in turn can lead to problems like diabetes. Ray will offer tips for treating your body well and appreciating all its abilities and finer points.

The class will be held July 29, 4 pm, and is free to the public. The Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center is located in Ashville, North Carolina.

Labels: self-esteem, self-image_issues, education

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Monitoring one's weight and body shape can be part of a healthy diet and exercise plan -- but excessive self-monitoring may indicate the presence of a problem such as an eating disorder. The link between excessive self-checking and eating disorders was explored in a June 5 article on the Medical News Today website:

"Sometimes body and weight checking becomes second nature and many individuals with eating disorders don't even realize they're doing it," said Dena Cabrera, PsyD, psychologist at Remuda Programs for Eating and Anxiety Disorders. "Commonly, they check to feel for fatness, bones and any physical change in their body to subconsciously or consciously motivate their eating disorder behavior."

Many individuals with eating disorders weigh themselves at frequent intervals, sometimes many times a day. As a result they become obsessed with the daily weight fluctuations that are a normal part of the body and would otherwise pass unnoticed. The movements on the scale then determine their mood and eating patterns.

Body checking is influential in maintaining dissatisfaction with shape and appearance. Other common behaviors associated with body checking include: looking in the mirror (or at reflective surfaces); measuring body parts with tape measures or hands; pinching or touching body parts; assessing the tightness of particular items of clothing or accessories; looking down at one's body and touching collar bones to check for boniness.

Parents who notice that their children are engaging in excessive self-monitoring -- or who are showing other eating disorder symptoms -- should intervene immediately and make arrangements for their child to be evaluated by a health care professional.

Labels: signs_of_eating_disorders, self-image_issues, eating disorders

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Health advocates and cultural critics have long assailed the fashion industry for encouraging poor self-image among girls and young women (and, in turn, contributing to the rise in eating disorders) by promoting unhealthy and unrealistic body shapes.

According to a June 13 article by Will Pavia of the Britain's TimesOnline, these advocates recently learned that they have a surprising ally: the editor of the British version of Vogue,one of the world's leading fashion magazines:

Alexandra Shulman, one of the most important figures in the multi-billion-pound fashion industry, has taken on all the largest fashion houses in a strongly worded letter sent to scores of designers in Europe and America.

In a letter not intended for publication but seen by The Times, Shulman accuses designers of making magazines hire models with "jutting bones and no breasts or hips" by supplying them with "minuscule" garments for their photoshoots. Vogue is now frequently "retouching" photographs to make models look larger, she said.

Her intervention was hailed last night as a turning point in the debate over model size that has raged after the deaths of three models from complications relating to malnutrition, and the decision of leading fashion shows to ban size-zero models.

The "size zero" phenomenon has been blamed for furthering unrealistic body images, which many critics say leads to eating disorders among girls, young women, and increasing numbers of boys and young men.

Labels: self-esteem, fashion, self-image_issues

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Research that was presented at the annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists suggests that health care professionals need to be more aware of the likelihood that people with anxiety disorders may also have eating disorders.

Dr. Lynne Drummond, a consultant psychiatrist at South West London and St. Georges NHS Mental Health Trust, collected data from a sample of patients with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who were referred to a specialist unit for treatment.

A control group of patients with other anxiety disorders referred for treatment to the same unit was also studied. The study found that a fifth of patients with OCD also had signs of disordered eating. The prevalence for those with other anxiety disorders was a one in three. (Source: Medical News Today)

Dr. Drummond concluded that the connection between OCD and disordered eating is often overlooked, and could endanger patients.

Labels: anxiety, eating disorders, ocd

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In a May 29 article that was posted on the website of the Gloucester Daily Times, relationship coach Susan Britt wrote that certain types of family dysfunction can put children at increased risk for developing an eating disorder:

In the perfectionistic family, there is constant pressure to be the best at everything -- an impossible order for any person to fill. You are not valued as an individual but for what you can contribute to the family's public reputation. The messages you grow up with are "Measure up!," "Be good!" and "Please people."

Food-focused families are another source of dysfunctional eating behavior. Parents who constantly count calories and fat or who exercise compulsively send their children the message that food is a negative thing and that eating is bad.

Equally unhealthy are families that use food to reward or punish behavior or to express love or consolation. People who grow up in these kinds of families don't understand that food isn't good or bad, it's just sustenance.

Near the end of her article, Britt noted that, with effective treatment, "destructive eating patterns can be unlearned and replaced with healthy eating behaviors."

For more information about eating disorder treatment for you or someone you love, visit the Something Fishy website.

Labels: family, causes of eating disorders

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Research that was presented June 7 during the annual meeting of Britain's Royal College of Psychiatrists indicates that individuals with anxiety disorders may be at increased risk of also suffering from an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder.

A June 7 article on the Medical News Today website provided the following details about the connection between anxiety and eating disorders:

Dr Lynne Drummond, a consultant psychiatrist at South West London and St George's NHS Mental Health Trust, collected data from a sample of patients with severe OCD who were referred to a specialist unit for treatment. A control group of patients with other anxiety disorders referred for treatment to the same unit was also studied.

The study found that a fifth of the patients with OCD also had signs of disordered eating. The prevalance for those with other anxiety disorders was one in three.

The Medical News Today article reported that Dr. Drummond's presentation included a call for additional research into the prevalence of eating disorders among patients with OCD and other anxiety disorders.

"Although there have been several studies examining the prevalence of OCD and obsessive symptoms in patients with eating disorders," Dr. Drummond said, "there is a dearth of studies where patients with OCD and other anxiety disorders are examined for eating disorders."

Labels: anxiety, research, eating disorders

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Young people who are exposed to a wide variety of media may be at increased risk for health issues such as eating disorders, drug use, and early sexual activity.

On average, American children and teens spend more than six hours a day with media such as TV, computers, Internet, video games and VCR or DVD players -- more time than they spend per day receiving formal classroom instruction, says Dr. Victor C. Strasburger of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque. (Source: HealthDay News)

Dr. Strasburger urged parents to monitor their kids' access to media, and to supervise both what and how much they view. Computers, television sets, video games, and Internet connections should not be allowed in kids' bedrooms, he said, and children's access to electronic entertainment should be limited to two hours per day.

Labels: media_influences, children, parents

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Beauty pageants are often criticized for promoting unrealistic beauty standards that may prompt young girls to engage in dangerous weight-control measures.

But as Micholyn Fajen reported in the June 5 edition of the Des Moines Register, Katie Petersen's efforts to win the Mrs. Iowa crown may help to overcome the unfortunate association between beauty pageants and eating disorders:

Petersen's platform is building awareness and education of eating disorders, a condition she battled and overcame after seven years. Her mission is to provide a stopgap for women who are overcome by obsessions about size and perfection. ...

"I suffered emotionally and physically," Petersen said. "I'm preparing to turn something negative into a positive by sharing my story with others."

Petersen told the Register that winning the Mrs. Iowa title would allow her to expand her efforts on behalf of women who are suffering from poor self-image and eating disorders. "I want women to know it's OK to stay true to who you are on the inside," she said.

Labels: eating disorders, beauty, prevention

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Susan Barry's son was thoughtful, kind and inclusive. He was also a perfectionist who died of anorexia nervosa. To honor the memory of her son, and raise awareness of the prevalence of eating disorders among teenage males, Barry is hosting a 5K race June 6 in Okemos, Michigan.

Barry said T.J. started out just wanting a six-pack of abdominal muscles. However, she said it got to a point where he couldn't stop obsessing over his weight. ... Her son, she noted, performed 1,000 sit-ups every morning and another 1,000 at night. (Source: Lansing State Journal)

The race is named after her son -- 5K4TJ -- and is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m., starting at Kinawa Middle School in Okemos. The fee is $20 in advance or $25 on the day of the race.

Though many people mistakenly believe that eating disorders only affect girls and women, cases of eating disorders among boys and men are becoming much more common.

Labels: boys, men, eating disorders

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A surprising report from the Remuda Ranch Programs for Eating and Anxiety Disorders indicates that eating disorders may be prevalent -- and on the increase -- among elderly individuals.

Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other eating disorders are usually associated with teen girls and young women, but a June 2 article by Stephen Baetge of the website Spectrum Online notes that these disorders are limited neither to women nor to the young:

The new Remuda report has found that eating disorders in elderly women have increased, and the majority of deaths from anorexia nervosa occur in people over the age of 65.

"Because few health professionals think of screening for eating disorders in the elderly, many elderly eating disorder patients have frequently been missed, with tragic consequences," explained Edward Cumella, Ph.D., executive director at Remuda Ranch. "Anorexia nervosa is a very serious illness in seniors, because many already have compromised health to begin with."

Thought to be among the deadliest mental health issues, eating disorders are treatable in patients of all ages. Some people who are afflicted with an eating disorder are able to make progress via outpatient therapy, while others require the more intensive and comprehensive intervention that provided in a residential eating disorder treatment program.

Labels: eating disorders, elderly

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