"Virtual food" therapy may help people with eating disorders, according to new research from Italy.

• Dr. Alessandra Gorini of the Instituto Auxologico Italiana studied 30 women: ten had anorexia, ten had bulimia, and the other ten had no eating disorders.
• She showed them high-calorie foods and measured their heart rate, perspiration and psychological stress.
• Then she showed them the same foods in "virtual reality", and then photographs of the foods.
• Participants had reactions similar to the virtual foods as to the real ones, but they responded less to the photographs.

Dr. Gorini believes that people with eating orders could build up their confidence by being exposed to "virtual foods," and then gradually be introduced to the real thing. Therapies using real food can actually make eating disorders worse by creating more anxiety in people in treatment.

The study appears in the Annals of General Psychiatry.
 

Labels: treatment

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment

Young people who have distorted body images of themselves think of themselves as overweight and ugly, even while they are dieting down to starvation levels.

• Body image distortion can start in the grade school years; however, dieting to lose weight usually begins in the preteen years.
• By high school, about 12 percent of all students are using extreme weight control measures such as fasting, laxatives, vomiting after overeating, and over-exercising.
• About 2 percent have full-fledged eating disorders, and these are related to body image distortion.

Dr. Janet Liechty, a professor at the University of Illinois, believes that parents and healthcare professionals should address the issue of distorted body images. Her study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health concluded that addressing this issue would be the best way to "catch" children with eating disorders at the earliest possible ages.

Pediatrician Paul Aschinberg agrees.

"We are bombarded every day with images of what we're supposed to think is an ideal body type, and that's not always healthy or realistic. When young people are repeatedly exposed to these images, the image in their brain is that their body is different and not good. They begin to think they are overweight when they are not," he said.

"The goal should be on developing healthy eating habits, not on achieving a certain number on the scale," Aschinberg added. "This is something parents should teach children before there is a problem, before they are too skinny or too fat."
 

Labels: body image, self-image_issues

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment

Middle-aged women are under just as much pressure to be thin, and may be just as likely as teenage girls and young women to suffer from eating disorders, according to new research from Australia.

Dr. Stephen Touyz and his colleagues at the University of Sydney studied older women who have been suffering from eating disorders for more than seven years. Most of them were reluctant to talk about their problems.

"People who fall into this particular category are not in treatment because they are too scared to seek help and because getting better means putting on weight," said Dr. Touyz. "It's not that there are not enough people suffering, it is that they continue to suffer in silence -- in some cases for decades."

About 30 percent of people with anorexia nervosa, who are not diagnosed as teenagers, continue to have the disorder throughout their lives.

Posted By: CRC Health 1 Comment

Yoga helps people with eating disorders because the discipline allows them to remain in touch with their feelings, rather than to disassociate with their bodies when they are angry, anxious or sad, according to a report in Psychology Today by Dr. Kelly McGonigal.

A recent study from Deakin University in Australia found that a 12-week yoga program helped obese women with binge eating disorders. Participants had fewer episodes of binge eating, reduced hip and waist measurements, and increases in self-esteem after completing the program.

The answer as to why yoga produces these changes is that binge eating episodes are often triggered by a need to escape unpleasant feelings. Since you are not concentrating on what you are eating, you lose connection with how much you are eating and whether you are hungry or full.

People with eating disorders learn to use conscious breathing and other yoga techniques to "breathe through" negative feelings that trigger eating binges. They can also learn self-compassion and how to avoid beating up on themselves over their behaviors.

Labels: yoga

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment

In our weight-conscious, “thin is in” society, the super-fit are praised and admired. But some of the people who look the healthiest could actually be the sickest.

“There is such a thing as too much exercise. Up to 11 million Americans annually suffer from eating disorders, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Of those diagnosed with bulimia, more than 80 percent of them use excessive exercise to control their weight, according to a 1999 study.” [Source: The Oakland Tribune]

Sometimes called “exercise bulimia,” this disorder is marked by an extreme obsession with or dedication to exercise. Symptoms include co-dependency, obsessive compulsive tendencies, anxiety, and extreme weight loss.

Labels: bulimia, exercise

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Rina Ranalli’s daughter has anorexia. When researching their options, she and her husband decided on a different form of treatment for their daughter. Rather than sending her to a therapist, they started treating her at home.

[The] Ranalli family was using the little-known Maudsley Approach, a grueling but evidence-based treatment for adolescents suffering from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. The approach, also called ‘family-based therapy,’ flips conventional treatment on its head… parents immediately start the daunting task of ‘re-feeding’ their malnourished child.

Once weight is restored – and, theoretically, rational thinking returns because the brain has some nourishment – parents step back, and control over eating is gradually returned to the child. [Source: St. Louis Tribune]

Opponents of this approach say it ignores the psychological issues that often accompany eating disorders. Still, clinical trials have found the approach effective, which gives both parents and patients some much-needed hope.

Labels: anorexia, parents

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment

People who struggle with eating disorders typically also struggle with distorted body image. In fact, a new study has found that recognizing body image distortion is the most important step in identifying teens who are at risk of developing eating disorders.

“’Body image distortion is when perceptions don’t match up with reality,’ according to Silver Cross pediatrician Dr. Paul Aschinberg. ‘And sometimes perceptions can be more important than reality.’… Aschinberg says those feelings of inadequacy can take firm root in grade school. Preteens will then begin thinking about ways to achieve their perception of the ideal body…” [Source: Chicago Sun-Times]

Unfortunately, body image isn’t something physicians typically check, so parents need to talk with their child’s doctor about it. There is so much emphasis on overweight children, that those who are at a healthy weight are often overlooked.

Labels: teenagers, body image

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Most people choose vegetarianism or veganism for a variety of genuine reasons. Some, for example, have a philosophical problem with eating animals. Others cite nutritional benefits.

But for some, these dietary regimens are covers for eating disorders.

“When she was just 13, [Jill] became a vegetarian, in part for philosophical reasons, but mainly as an excuse to avoid her mom’s New Orleans-style chicken-fried steak and jambalaya. As she forged a career in yoga instruction, she further restricted her diet by going vegan, all the while struggling with an eating disorder that she kept under wraps.” [Source: The Daily Beast]

The veganism gave Jill an excuse to restrict her food intake, and it would be more than 15 years before she acknowledged the damage she was doing and started to change her eating habits.

Medical professionals who help treat eating disorder patients say there are a disproportionate number of vegans and vegetarians among them, as compared to the rest of the population. Parents are encouraged to be cautious and observant if a child suddenly announces that he or she is becoming a vegetarian or vegan.

Labels: unhealthy eating, vegetarians

Posted By: Eating Disorders Help Guide 1 Comment

The first episode of Australia’s Next Top Model is sure to spark controversy and re-ignite the debate over accountability and weight discrimination in the fashion industry, as well as the media's influence on body image. During a catwalk challenge, several of the show’s contestants are “benched” – not allowed to participate – because they’re said to be “too big.”

“A psychologist specializing [sic] in eating disorders, Dr. Vivienne Lewis, said the program was sending a ‘dangerous message that even being rake-thin isn’t good enough.’ Dr. Lewis called for view warnings on programs which promote an unhealthy body image.” [Source: Adelaide Now]

One of the models who was forced to sit out the competition, Ashlea Monigatti, said she’d never worried about her weight until that day. And at a healthy size 8, there’s been no reason for weight to be an issue for her.

Labels: fashion, modeling, shame

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Texas A&M University has begun a two-year study of 250 overweight children in order to study is to understand why some children eat for emotional reasons and develop eating disorders.

One theory of eating disorders is that problems with the regulation of emotion leads some children to eat when they are not hungry as a way to cope with stress and negative emotions.

This study is funded by the National Institute of Health.
 

Labels: research, emotional eating, overweight

Posted By: Eating Disorders Help Guide 1 Comment

Pop culture makes a strong connection between appearance and value. If you’re attractive, you’re valuable. If you’re unattractive, you’re not. Pop culture also sets very clear (and often unattainable) rules about what “attractive” is.

In a July 7 article in the Traverse City (MI) Record-Eagle, Wanda Repke advised parents to take steps to lessen the impact of these unrealisitic cultural value judgments on their children's health and self-image:

"While it's fashionable to blame the media for these self-defeating attitudes, parents often contribute as well. When was the last time you said something positive or negative about your own body? Have you said something negative a lot more recently than you said something positive? ...

To begin to change your family's body image, start with yourself. Focus on what your body does well, not where it is deficient. Instead of always saying bad things about your body, make positive statements such as, "my body feels great after taking a walk" or "my skin looks so much better when I get enough sleep."
 

Labels: self-esteem, self-image_issues, parents

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Sophia Bush, an actress from the TV show One Tree Hill, recently used her personal blog to slam clothing chain Urban Outfitters, for selling a t-shirt that simply says “Eat Less.” Though the phrase is a movie-scene reference, Bush feels it sends a destructive message when placed on a t-shirt. Not only did she promise to stop shopping at the store, but she demanded restitution as well.

“You should issue a public apology, and make a hefty donation to a women’s organization that supports those stricken with eating disorders. I am sickened that anyone, on any board, in your gigantic company would have voted ‘yes’ on such a thing, let alone enough of you to manufacture an item with such a hurtful message. It’s like handing a suicidal person a loaded gun. You should know better.” [Source: Sophia Bush Official Website]

Bush’s outrage is due, in part, to the overwhelming response she received from One Tree Hill viewers when her character – a fashion designer – launched a campaign called “Zero is Not a Size.” There is no word about how Urban Outfitters plans to respond, if at all.

Labels: fashion, body image, pressures

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment