Even after decades of study, eating disorders remain difficult to understand and hard to treat.

Writing in the June 1 edition of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Joannie Dobbs and Alan Titchenal of the University of Hawaii-Manoa described a Swedish effort to treat eating disorders based upon the belief that disordered eating causes (rather than results from) psychological problems.

To date, the most well-studied successful treatment approach was developed in Sweden. Dr. Per Soedersten at the Karolinska Institute claims that the psychological problems are a result of the anorexic condition, not the cause.

Based on about 500 patients treated in their clinics, 75 percent went into full remission and 90 percent of these have remained free from symptoms of an eating disorder for five years or longer. No other treatments have documented such excellent results.

The institute treats anorexia by normalizing nutrition rather than using psychological therapies. Patients are gradually trained to eat normally again.

To do this, Soedersten's group uses a device called a Mandometer. This device is a computerized plate scale that monitors how fast and how much the patient is consuming. As they eat, the Mandometer provides feedback to help the patients learn to eat at a normal pace and to become more sensitive to their satiety cues.

Labels: causes of eating disorders, psychology

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About 18% of teens in a Finnish study told researchers they have eating disorders. Those young people, most of whom were not overweight, were more likely to have psychological and health problems.

Lea Hautala from the Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic at the University of Turku surveyed 372 students, ages 15 to 17 years old. Among those with eating disorders, 70% had other health problems such as headaches; 47% suffered from anxiety; 31% were depressed; and 77% were unhappy with their appearances. Girls were twice as likely to have eating disorders as boys.

This study appears in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Labels: health_problems, psychology

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Since 2002, the number of teenagers with eating disorders as increased six-fold in Singapore. And, unfortunately, only 10 to 20 percent are actively seeking treatment.

Local psychologists feel that the alarming rise of teenage eating disorders is due to lack of confidence or control.

"Dr Evelyn Boon, Psychologist, Singapore General Hospital, said: 'One of the contributing factors could be that they feel bad about certain things. It could be what they can't control - their family, how they feel about themselves. So in order for them to feel better, they feel that they should control how they are looked at by other people. A lot of them have this misconception that being slim is popular. That's one of the more common things we've heard of. The other thing is if they're teased in school about being overweight, they go the other extreme.'"

Experts believe that Singapore girls have lower self-esteem and a higher level of insecurities about themselves than other Asian girls. Read more online.

Labels: teenagers, girls, psychology

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