Eating Disorders In The News: April 29, 2010

Bill Aids Eating Disorder Care

By Tara Bannow mndaily.com

An act propelled by two Minnesota senators seeks to improve the plight of those suffering from eating disorders and prevent future cases from starting.

The Freed Act would allocate research money to the National Institutes of Health to better investigate the causes of eating disorders and improve treatment methods. The research would also seek to improve public data on eating disorders, including morbidity and mortality rates.

The act was sponsored Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and recently introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar D-Minn., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.

“The fact is, we don’t know nearly enough about diagnosing, treating and preventing these diseases,” Franken wrote in a statement. “Today’s legislation is a major step forward in understanding eating disorders and how to stop them from destroying lives.”

When patients with less obvious eating disorders visit their doctors, it’s not uncommon for them to hear lines like “You look great, I wish all my patients looked like you,” said Jeanine Cogan, policy director of the Eating Disorders Coalition.

Read Bill Aids Eating Disorder Care in full.

A Better Body Image

By Molly Logan Anderson Uticaod.com

Can you feel the excitement in the air as school-age kids enter the summer months? Free of their tight schedule and normal routine, warm weather offers kids plenty of opportunities for fun in the sun and time with friends. Unfortunately, the same activities that kids enjoy so much can also cause anxiety about their appearance.For teens, tweens and even elementary-age children, physical appearance is a top concern. If parents start early and are consistent with positive body-image messages, children will be better able to avoid disordered eating patterns down the line.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, a 1991 study found that 42 percent of first- through third-grade girls would like to be thinner. Another study that same year determined that 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat. Statistics like these suggest that a cultural bias toward thinness is leading our youth to value a particular size at a very young age. Parental guidance is more important than ever.

Why do kids care?

It seems as if childhood concerns regarding weight and appearance start earlier and earlier.

“I think the struggles affect kids at a much younger age,” says Kathy Kater, LICSW, psychotherapist and author of “Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and Love Their Bodies Too!”

Read A Better Body Image in full.

Fairmount Performing Arts Center play examines baffling world of food and body image

Cleveland.com


Amy is a teen who is happy to bake her dad his favorite chocolate cake for his birthday, but doesn't trust herself to eat one bite. Instead, she heads to her bedroom and madly runs in place to burn the calories she consumed at the family dinner.

Fortysomething "Calorie Woman" can spout off the number of calories in the most complicated "grande" coffee drink at Starbucks -- though she only orders the nonfat, sugar-free version, and panics when she tastes whole-milk foam added by mistake.

Read Fairmount Performing Arts in full.


Portland's Zoe Yates Tells Of Battle Back From Anorexia

Dorset Echo

A TEENAGER who fought against anorexia is warning others of the dangers posed by eating disorders.

Zoe Yates, from Portland, spent five years battling anorexia and ended up being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Her weight plummeted to under five stone as she refused to eat and spent prolonged periods in hospital.

Zoe, 19, is now well on her way to recovery and has used her savings to book an eight-week adventure in Southern India. She will be traveling with a friend who she met in hospital and together they will be going to volunteer in an orphanage.

Read Zoe's story in full

Way To Go! Rebecca Allen Of Roslyn High School

Newsday.com

Rebecca Allen knows firsthand about the dangers of eating disorders.

Allen, a Roslyn High School senior, was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa in 2006, and missed the start of her freshman year because she was admitted to Schneider Children's Hospital. Since then, Allen initiated the idea for Project HEAL, a nonprofit that gives funding to people battling eating disorders who can't afford treatment, which can be $30,000 a month, she said. So far, she's raised some $100,000.

"Insurance rarely covers eating disorders," Allen, 17, said. "I saw people firsthand being turned down for treatment."

Read Rebecca's story in full.



HBS Fashionably Fights Eating Disorders

Thecrimson.com

April is the month for fashion shows with a cause, it seems, and on April 13, the Harvard Business School’s Retail and Apparel Club hosted its 7th annual HBS fashion show at Mantra, a restaurant in downtown Boston. Every year, the fashion show aims to raise awareness for a selected charity “through the lens of fashion,” according to a press kit for the fashion show.

This year, the students celebrated beautiful people, beautiful clothes, and beautiful bodies in an effort to raise awareness for this year’s charity, the Harris Center for Education and Advocacy in Eating Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Read HBS in full.


German school takes teenagers to see cremations of young people to warn them of the dangers of addiction

DailyMail

A German town has begun taking teenagers to witness cremations of young people killed through drink or drugs in a bid to wean them from a life of addictions.

Children aged between 14 and 16 in Meissen now have to go at least once to the town crematorium to see the coffins of young victims burned in the 920 degree oven.

They are also shown the ashes, a machine which grinds bones to dust and the remains of false teeth that melt into unidentifiable bits of metal in the flames.

The shock-therapy, a new concept in Germany which normally does its best to shield children from the grim realities of the adult world, is being observed by other cities and towns with a view to copying it.

This week 40 youngsters from the Ebersbacher Middle School in the town stood in the chilly cool room of the crematorium among 200 corpses awaiting cremation.

Read about the cremations in full.


*article sources linked above.
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Eating Disorders In The News: May 2009

Will Anorexia Nervosa Receive More Funding As The Number Of Male Anorexic Increase?

People ask why I write about the painful subject of my daughter’s anorexia and eventual death. I’ve explained a few reasons in past articles, but there’s one more.

You see I just can’t stand that my loved daughter has become a statistic of the disease of anorexia. And I want people to learn, as I’m sure all moms would, that this young woman had a mom and dad, a sister, aunts and uncles, grandparents, friends and enemies, talents and shortcomings, loves and hates. In other words a life, not a perfect life, but what could have been a wonderful life. I want people to see Meg as a complex human being not a statistic. That’s why I write.

To continue, after losing over thirty lbs in her senior year of high school, Meg entered college looking great at 126 lbs. She came home for Thanksgiving weighing 114 lbs; came home for Christmas weighing 108.

During the Thanksgiving holidays, we talked to Meg about losing so much weight. But since she lost another six pounds from Thanksgiving break to her Christmas break, which amounted to a mere three weeks, she obviously hadn’t listened. I was so worried that I made an appointment with a psychologist who specialized in anorexia. Her face expressionless and her body tense with anger, Meg begrudgingly went to the appointment with me. But there was a problem. Meg turned eighteen the April before she started college: This seemingly minor detail became a major stumbling block during Meg’s seventeen year battle with anorexia.

Since Meg was eighteen, she could be seen by the doctor alone, and of course she chose to do so. And I had no legal right to stop her; at that point, I didn’t feel I should after all this was her first appointment for anorexia. Meg came to her appointment dressed in a fairly short skirt, thick tights and a long-sleeved sweatshirt. Now like me, Meg holds a good deal of her weight in her legs which were quite visible; nevertheless, her skinny arms and ribs were not. As I’ve said before, Meg was smart, smarter than I realized. The camouflage dressing trick went unnoticed by me for a while. In addition, Meg always portrayed herself, to others, as a capable young woman who has no problems except a mother who worries. After her appointment, the doctor said he really didn’t think we should be concerned about Meg. He informed me that many college freshmen either gain or lose weight while adjusting to their new lives. Obviously, the psychologist was deceived by her dress and her confident manner. So much for catching anorexia early.

Looking back, this is another example of the “insightful” advice we received from the medical profession about Meg’s overweight and underweight conditions.

Read in full here.

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Help For Those Struggling With Eating Disorders

While many individuals struggle with trying to lose weight, others have a difficult time trying to gain weight.

Whether someone seeks to recover from an eating disorder, manage a long-term illness (such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, an autoimmune disorder or food sensitivities/allergies), needs to gain weight for sport or simply aims to try to gain a healthy body weight, healthy weight gain can often present many challenges.

For one, an individual may not wish to gain weight, but needs to do so for health reasons. Perhaps this is someone with an eating disorder. If the individual is a minor, a parent is often the one seeking out healthful ways to encourage his or her child's weight gain at an appropriate rate. In these situations, it is imperative to work with a team of health professionals who specialize in eating disorders, including a physician, psychotherapist, dietitian and perhaps a psychiatrist as well. In this way, the parents do not become the "food police," interrogating children at every meal and snack, nor do they choose unhealthy ways to gain weight (such as forcing unhealthful foods into a child's diet). Additionally, the team can address underlying concerns and focus on whole body recovery, rather than just the weight restoration.

Another reason someone may be struggling with gaining weight is simply a side effect of having an illness. This can happen with Alzheimer's, where an individual forgets to eat or forgets how to eat, or cancer, where the body's reserves are being depleted at an accelerated rate.

Men, as well as women, can struggle with putting on weight, while trying to achieve high muscle mass for sport. With intense exercise, it is essential to consume enough calories to not only avoid unwanted weight loss, but also to achieve healthy lean muscle mass. Working with a dietitian who specializes in sports nutrition is helpful in this situation.

Read in full here.

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New Nonprofit Organization Targets Binge Eaters

These days, stress causes Chevese Turner to reach for a handful of potato chips and then feel disgusted.

But nearly a decade ago, difficult times would send her to finish off an entire bag of potato chips, or even go to McDonald's and eat several sandwiches.

That was before she was diagnosed as a binge eater. Now the Severna Park resident has created a nonprofit organization aimed at helping people with illnesses like hers.

Turner said she hopes her new organization, Binge Eating Disorder Association, will help other sufferers realize help is available. The group is planning a conference in June that will feature panel discussions and workshops about the disorder, and its Web site - www.bedaonline.com - provides links to resources, assistance and information about binge eating.

Turner's struggles with the illness also were recently featured in a "Good Morning America" segment on eating disorders.

"I still have my moments," Turner said. "It's a longterm thing. It's not something that changes overnight. I've done a lot of work and now I'm at a place where I manage my food intake."

Read in full here.

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Plans To Ban Internet Sites That Promote Diet Disease Anorexia

WEBSITES that promote anorexia are facing a campaign to outlaw them.

MSPs want the UK Government to introduce laws that fine or jail owners of sites promoting self-harm.

There are around 500 "pro-ana" websites promoting the eating disorder which kills up to one in 10 sufferers.

Many show disturbing images of anorexics and offer tips on vomiting and using laxatives to lose weight.

Tv presenter Fearne Cotton is furious at the sites after one portrayed her as a role model.

The SNP's Kenneth Gibson, backed in a Scottish Parliament motion by fellow MSPs, called on Westminster to crack down on the websites.

More than 80,000 people in Scotland are estimated to suffer from anorexia.

Gibson said: "I am deeply concerned about sites that portray anorexia as a glamorous lifestyle choice rather than potentially fatal with the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness.

"Messages on these sites fiercely defend weight loss as an act of self-control to be admired.

Read in full here.

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Learning To Love Every Inch Of Your Body

Food and weight issues for young girls and women have long been a battle to conquer.

But a researcher and author who specializes in body image says boys and men are joining the ranks of the body obsessed.

'I'm, Like, So Fat!, author Dianne Neumark-Sztainer shared this insight with an audience of parents, teens and professionals last week a workshop entitled: Eating in a Weight-Obsessed World: Helping your child have a healthy body image and healthy weight.

Hosted by the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) in Toronto, Neumark-Sztainer covered a multitude of topics affecting our youth with the goal of helping them to achieve healthy bodies and body images.

With a society placing emphasis on being thin as the ideal, it can be a difficult task, but initially she said parents have to identify their child has a weight or body image issue, decide how to bring it up to them and address the potential problem.

"It's important to bring up the problem when both you and your child are not upset," she said. "Tell them what you've noticed, for example, 'I heard you vomiting' and I'm concerned.'"

Once you've done this, Neumark-Sztainer said you will get a mixed reaction of "relief, anger and fear," but at least now there's a dialogue and an opportunity to seek help.

There are many factors contributing to weight and body image issues, many of which come from society. Media, like television and magazines, and movies and music videos, are filled with thin people, but in food ads, portion sizes are huge, which sends mixed-messages.

"Not only are models' pictures being modified, but so are food advertisements so they look bigger than they really are so they look better," she said.

Read in full here.

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Parent's Plea: Send Charlotte Home

THE parents of the jailed Swedish woman Charlotte Lindstrom have spoken out for the first time to beg Australian authorities to let their daughter transfer to a jail in Sweden, saying they fear her anorexia will kill her if she stays in Australia.

"We are deeply concerned and worried for our daughter's life," Anita and Hans Lindstrom told the Herald in a statement, their first since their daughter's arrest.

They said she had been treated well in jail but four Australian doctors had recommended that she be transferred to Sweden, where she could be supported by her family, feel safer and avoid the stress of directly facing her former fiance in court.

Lindstrom, 24, is in solitary confinement in a NSW prison due to threats to her life. Her family says her health is so fragile that she could suffer heart failure.

Lindstrom will be the key witness in her former fiance's drug trial, which is due to begin in a few months. The Swedish Government has offered to cover both the costs of the transfer and of a video link so she could give evidence from Sweden.

But NSW authorities say the testimony - which could take 15 days - is essential to the prosecution case and could be inadequate if given via video link from Sweden.

Read in full here.

sources linked above.

Eating Disorders In the News: Recent Articles

It's Time To Mount A Full Offensive Against Eating Disorders

At only 4 years old, I worried that I was fat. Over time, these worries became a life-threatening eating disorder. I was so sick that I turned down an acceptance to medical school after college graduation. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 22, and I am one of the lucky ones; I got help.

While my health insurance benefits were slim to none for anorexia and bulimia, my parents helped me to cover the cost of my treatment, which can run in the tens of thousands of dollars. With treatment, I fully recovered and live a normal, happy life today. I did not realize just how lucky I was until I began writing and speaking publicly about recovery — until the e-mails floated into my inbox. As many as 10 million women and 1 million men in the U.S. battle anorexia and bulimia. Millions more struggle with binge-eating disorder. I hear from them daily.I hear stories from people who do not have insurance coverage or the personal resources to pay for appropriate and much-needed treatment. This is an outrage. My friend, Kathy, lost her battle to anorexia last year at age 41. She fought for years to overcome her illness but never received the continuum of quality care that she needed due to the high financial costs that, tragically, cost her life. Without help, many people struggle for years and, if they do survive, they end up with serious long-term health consequences.
Read in full here.

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Anorexia Clinics Needed In Australia

The Auckland District Health Board has traditionally sent girls suffering from anorexia to Australia for acute treatment, but the Furse family are calling for the ADHB to invest in a clinic for New Zealand.

The Furse family has finally been reunited in their Auckland home, after four and a half months of separation.

Millie Furse and her mum, Michelle, have been living in Sydney while the 17-year-old underwent treatment for anorexia.

18-year-old Hannah Furse has been looking after the house as well as caring for 13-year-old younger sister Laura.

Michelle says everyone in the family has had to make sacrifices for Millie’s treatment.

“I've had to go back on a benefit, I'm on a domestic purposes benefit because I haven't been able to work," says Michelle.

"Even now I still can't go back to work at this stage.”

“Hannah also, she's just finished school, and she was going to go to Teacher's College this year but she hasn't been able to - she's had to stay home and look after Laura.”

Read in full here.

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The Art Of Slimming Under Pressure

When it comes to the perfect body obsession, eating disorders become the answer to many.

I am 5 feet 7 inches and 135 pounds. I’d rather have Cheetos than carrots, I can’t eat dinner without dessert and just the thought of going to the gym makes me tired.

I’ll be the first to admit my body looks nothing like the stick-thin glamour girls gleaming on magazine covers, strutting down runways and capturing daily headlines.

Like a lot of people — young, old, female and male — I’ve struggled with my weight and body image all my life. Never skinny or fat, I always seem to fall somewhere in the middle.

Rather than accept the fact I may never fit into a size two, I constantly find myself trying.

I scarf down salads with non-fat dressing when I’d rather have a burger, I order frozen yogurt instead of ice cream and I gasp for breath four times a week as I attempt a twenty-minute jog of death on the treadmill.

No matter how many times I hear “You’re fine just the way you are,” I still find myself standing in the mirror, pinching every ounce of fat I could stand to lose and imagining what I would look like if every bone protruded from my body like those of the sucked-up celebrities on TV.

Am I pointing the finger at the media? Well, if the jeans fit.

The simple fact is we compare ourselves to those considered beautiful.

Read in full here.

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Eating Disorder Sufferers To Get New Scots Unit

SCOTS suffering from eating disorders are to be treated at the country’s first ever dedicated unit. Anorexia and bulimia patients across the country are to be housed at the specialist ward at St John’s Hospital, Livingston under new plans revealed yesterday. Scots sports stars David Coulthard, Chris Boardman and Craig MacLean are among the country’s high-profile sufferers of the sometimes fatal condition, And one mother, who has been campaigning for the new facilities for the past five years, has claimed if the centre existed before her daughter “would be alive today”.

Read in full here.

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New Program To Address Body Image

With so much pressure the media and society to be the perfect size, many college women and men have started bashing their bodies and becoming obsessed with food, weight, and exercise. Many of these behaviors have led to eating disorders.

Dr. Kerry Luke, staff psychologist at the counseling center at UA, has created a program, called Body Acceptance and Self Kindness, designed to prevent the onset of eating disorders and discuss issues surrounding food, weight and body image.

“I created B.A.S.K. because the prevalence for anorexia and bulimia are so high,” said Luke. “This group is important because these disorders are the most lethal when it comes to psychological disorders.”

While the program is relatively new, Luke has an idea of where she wants the program to go. Eight to 10 college students would be picked based on a screening process that would evaluate where they stand in regards to body image. The students selected would then meet on a regular basis to talk about body image, body issues, and ideals of beauty.

Read in full here.

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Are You At Risk For Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis can strike at any age, but it is most common in older women. In fact, 80 percent of Americans with osteoporosis are women. One in every two women over age 50 will break a bone in her lifetime due to osteoporosis. Men fare somewhat better, with one in every four men over age 50 suffering an osteoporosis-related fracture.

The bottom line: Both men and women should take steps to maintain and improve bone health. And there’s no better time than May —National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month — to deliver this message.

The risk factors

A number of factors can increase your risk of bone loss and osteoporosis.

Read in full here.
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Eating Disorder Bill Gets House Committee Hearing

JEFFERSON CITY — Supporters of a bill that would require insurance coverage of eating disorders have accomplished their goal for the session: a committee hearing in both chambers. The House Special Committee on Health Insurance devoted 35 minutes to the bill today, most of which involved emotional testimony from those most affected by eating disorders. John Culp, whose daughter died of an eating disorder last week, invited those opposed to the bill to her funeral. “There is nothing worse in the world than to lose a son or daughter,” he said.

“Put away your damn parties and do something for Missourians,” he said later.

Dr. Kim McCallum, who runs a treatment center for eating disorders in St. Louis, said she’s had many patients who had to leave before they were well. One patient. McCallum said, told her it was like being pulled off a respirator before she could breathe.

And Rebecca Lester, a medical anthropologist who studies eating disorders at Washington University, said this sort of treatment is crucial.

“Relapse is inevitable if the patients don’t get the care they need,” she said.

Brook Balentine, 30, got help for her eating disorder in 2007. She said after two weeks of treatment, her insurance company determined she had reached a healthy weight, and ended treatment. “My mental state regarding this disorder was far from healthy,” she said. Balentine continued treatment anyway.

Read in full here.

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