Many young people with eating disorders do not get proper treatment because their behaviors and symptoms do not match the exact definition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.

Physicians use the manual to diagnose and treat mental diseases. Insurance companies often require that patients meet the criteria in the manual for a certain disease before they will pay for its treatment. Some of these criteria for eating disorders may be missing a menstrual period for three months in a row, being below 75 percent normal body weight, and losing weight at a fast pace, according to Dr. Rebecka Peebles, lead author.

"Some patients who are at normal weight or even overweight are still very medically scary," she said. "We're seeing patients younger and younger, patients as young as five years old. Certainly, seven to 12 years of age, that is not uncommon anymore."

Dr. Peeples and her research team from Stanford University School of Medicine studied 1310 children and adolescents, ages 8 to 19 years old . More than 60 percent of those with "eating disorders not otherwise specified" had trouble getting insurance coverage. The majority of patients in this group met criteria for hospitalization and were usually sicker than patients diagnosed with bulimia.

About 10 million women and one million men in the United States suffer from eating disorders, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Binge eating disorder, which is now considered one of the non-specified eating disorders, may be a problem for 25 million people.

Labels: diagnosis

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In a March 17 article on BCLocalNews.com, writer Martin van den Hemel reported that Canadian health experts are becoming increasingly aware of the prevalence of eating disorders among men and boys:

Over the last few years, researchers have come to the realization that as many as one in four who suffer from anorexia or bulimia are male, said University of B.C. professor Dr. Laird Birmingham, senior scientist with the Child and Family Research Institute in Vancouver.

"Previously, some people thought eating disorders didnt occur much at all in males, whereas other people in certain centres that specialized in males with eating disorders thought they were very common," Birmingham said [March 16], ahead of a public forum on eating disorders in Richmond [on March 24].

But a cross-Canada nutrition survey conducted by the federal government four years ago suggested men accounted for 20 to 25 per cent of people with eating disorders.

Labels: canada, boys, men

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As the prevalence of eating disorders among young people remains troublingly high, the debate rages on as to whether fashion magazines exacerbate the problem. While images of super-thin models may not trigger eating disorders, the unrealistic images certainly don't help, and some magazines are fighting back.

Glamour is going full-force with this revolution. They devote an entire edition to body image and the effects it has on women around the world. They include facts about body image in different countries, which shows how much more emphasis America puts on being thin than everyone else in the world. [Source: The Hofstra Chronicle]

Glamour goes one step further, encouraging women to focus on health first, even going so far as to say that health is beauty, the Chronicle reported. In an effort to "walk the walk," Glamour has also begun using average-sized women in its features.

Labels: media_influences

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Kristen Haglund, Miss America 2008, is scheduled to speak about her struggles with disordered eating toda, April 9.

Haglund is slated to give the keynote speech during the "Awareness & Action on Eating Disorders: Confronting America's Silent Danger," event, which is being sponsored by The Victorian, an eating disorder treatment facility in Newport Beach, California.

Haglund will be joined at the event by retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey and Barry Karlin, CEO of CRC Health Group.

For more information about this event call Paige Willard at (949) 554-1114 or e-mail pwillard (at) crchealth.com.

Labels: aware

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In an April 2 article on the Huffington Post, eating disorder survivor Sunny Gold (health editor of Glamour magazine and founder of www.healthygirl.org), wrote about a topic that does not always play a major role in many eating disorder articles: hope.

In a culture that is as weird about food and overweight as it once was about sex, simply talking about the links between obesity, eating disorders and the media at all--as the National Eating Disorders Association and the Stop Obesity Alliance, Newsweek, CBS news and Glamour did today--is an amazing first step.

The notion that we can change things has never felt more true to me than this moment: With a First Family that has taken on health and nutrition as one of its key issues, with huge and powerful groups like NEDA and the obesity alliance finally coming together, with models like Crystal Renn and Coco Rocha speaking out about their own struggles with disordered eating, I've never been so sure that we're on the right track.

I'll end with a line from one of my favorite Beck songs (you know this one, c'mon sing it with me): "Things are gonna change, I can feel it!"

Labels: hope

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A self-directed, 12-week program may help people who struggle with binge eating. A study conducted in 2004 and 2005 followed the progress of about 60 binge eaters who enrolled in the program.

"By the end of the 12-week program, 63.5 percent of participants quit binging. Six months later, 74.5 percent of participants abstained from binging, compared to 44.1 percent in a usual weight loss care group. A year later, 64.2 percent of participants were binge free compared to 44.6 percent in usual care." [Source: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology]

The program is based on a six-step process for controlling binge eating. It encourages self-monitoring and problem-solving methods that can be applied both in therapy sessions and in everyday life.

Labels: binge eating

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Kirsten Haglund was crowned Miss America in 2008. Shortly thereafter, she began speaking openly and honestly about her struggles with eating disorders. Her battle was triggered while she was at a youth ballet camp, where she felt all the other girls were skinnier and more talented than her. In an effort to keep up, she began limiting her food intake.

Haglund recently spoke about her experiences during an event that was sponsored by Montecatini, an eating disorder treatment program in Southern California.

At first, her strategy produced some success. She started to look like the other dancers. But slowly she fell behind: Essentially starving her body, she lost energy and muscle tissue.

"You start to see a positive effect, you see a glimmer of light, where you’ll finally feel totally in control, then you’ll finally be thin enough and finally be successful enough. It keeps you reaching for that, but it’s a lie. You’ll never get there." (Source: The Orange County Register)

Haglund eventually got help when her mother forced her to see a doctor. She was furious and didn’t want to go, but it was the necessary first step in her recovery, she said.
 

Labels: anorexia, awareness

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A joint study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital has found that diagnostic criteria for eating disorders may be too strict. As a result, many of the sickest patients may not get properly diagnosed, or may not get the help they need.

“’There’s mounting evidence that we should reconsider the EDNOS [eating disorder not otherwise specified] categorization for young people,’ said Rebecka Peebles, MD, the study’s primary author. The EDNOS diagnosis has become a ‘mosh pit,’ lumping dissimilar patients into a single category that gets poor recognition from clinicians and health insurers.” (Source: Science Daily)

The research team examined medical records of 1,310 patients that were treated for anorexia. Nearly two-thirds of the patients had been diagnosed with EDNOS because they didn’t meet specific anorexia or bulimia criteria. However, 60 percent of the EDNOS patients were sick enough to require hospitalization, and they were generally sicker than patients who had been diagnosed with full-blown anorexia or bulimia.

 

Labels: dsm-v, endos

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