Weighing The Facts

Binge Eating Disorder: The Emotional Roots of a Physical Condition
Huffington Post: Sunny Gold

Something happened this morning in a nondescript "multipurpose room" on the campus of Pace University that could end up saving (literally) tens of thousands of lives. The Stop Obesity Alliance, the National Eating Disorders Association and key members of the mass media--three groups which, throughout the years have often been at loggerheads--got together for a long overdue talk. The subject? How the three groups can come together for the greatest good and talk about weight and health in a new, better way. I was there, in part, because I'm kind of a walking, breathing chimera of all three groups. I am recovered from binge eating disorder (BED) and obesity (I weighed 225 pounds during college, when my bingeing was at its worst), and I'm also a long-time health editor at Glamour magazine.

I've covered the health risks of obesity, smart nutrition and healthy weight loss--among many other women's health topics--for years. And, perhaps because of my personal history of BED, have often wondered why (oh God, why?) more obesity research and discussion of the obesity epidemic didn't focus on "disordered" eating. Of course obesity isn't an eating disorder, but it's undeniable that many people who are obese have one! Research has found that 10 to 15 percent of mildly obese individuals have BED, and it's been reported that many, many more engage in binge eating episodes. And we know from other research that binge eating creates real physiological changes in the brain that reinforce more binge eating, and therefore more depression, weight gain, obsession, dieting and ultimately, bingeing again. Except for patients lucky enough to be seen by top respected obesity treatment institutions, most obese people are treated for the physical symptoms and tangible causes of their ills--but not the emotional and mental roots.
Binge Eating Disorder: The Emotional Roots of a Physical Condition in full.

Rats Fed On Bacon, Cheesecake, and Ding-Dongs Become Addicted to Junk Food
Discover Magazine

Do you often feel the need for a sweet sugar rush or a moment of bacon-induced bliss? A new study offers evidence that that surge of pleasure is similar to a heroin high, and that eating junk food regularly can significantly change the brain’s chemical make-up, creating junk food addicts who are driven to overeat.

Lead researcher Paul Kenny says it had previously been unclear whether extreme overeating was initiated by a chemical irregularity in the brain or if the behavior itself was changing the brain’s biochemical makeup. The new research by Kenny and his colleague Paul Johnson, a graduate student, shows that both conditions are possible [Scientific American].
Rats Fed On Bacon, Cheesecake, and Ding-Dongs Become Addicted to Junk Food in full

Book and Talking Therapy Helped Binge Eaters Cut Down, US Study
Medical News Today

New research from the US found that reading a self-help book and 12 weeks of talking therapy helped binge eaters cut down for up to a year, and saved them money.

Two studies on the research, by investigators from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Wesleyan University and Rutgers University, are due to be published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Affecting around 9 million Americans, or more than 3 per cent of the population, binge eating is the most common eating disorder in the US, yet there aren't many ways to treat it.

The condition has received a lot press recently because the American Psychiatric Association has recommended it be regarded as a separate, distinct eating disorder like bulimia and anorexia. This distinction could focus more attention on bingeing and how it should be treated, as well as affect the numbers diagnosed and how insurers will cover treatment, noted the authors.
Book and Talking Therapy Helped Binge Eaters Cut Down, US Study in full.

Emily's Mother Told Her She Wasn't Welcome at Home While She Was Anorexic-So Did Tough Love Work?
DailyMail

After ten years of watching her beautiful and academically gifted daughter wasting away before her eyes, Sue Blackmore snapped.

Weighing less than six stone, Oxford graduate Emily Troscianko was little more than skin and bone, but she seemed determined to starve herself to death.

Overwhelmed by sadness, helplessness and anger, Sue suddenly realised she could no longer tolerate this 'ghost' sucking the life out of the family.

'Your anorexia is not welcome at our new house,' she told Emily on the phone, as they talked about the planned family move from Bristol to Devon.

Emily's Mother Told Her She Wasn't Welcome at Home While She Was Anorexic-So Did Tough Love Work? in full.

How Bristol Uni Thinks Plate Will Help Eating Disorders BBC

As Bristol University applies for funding to use a computerised plate which weighs food, Matthew Hill travels to Sweden to find out how effective it can be.

It's spaghetti carbonara and fresh salad on the menu at this specialist clinic for patients with eating disorders at Stockholm's prestigious Karolinska Institute.

Marisa Berzens is one of some 30 young women and teenagers tucking into their plate of food, perched on a pre-programmed device called a Mandometer, which tells them if they are eating enough and at the right speed.

Only weeks ago many of the patients were only able to consume, and keep down, a dangerously small amount of food.

Marisa, 23, flew all the way from Australia for her treatment. When she arrived for the seven-week course she weighed just over six stone (35kg) but she is already a much healthier weight.

Throughout her teenage years the former opera singer struggled with bulimia nervosa.

How Bristol Uni Thinks Plate Will Help Eating Disorders in full

Recovery Quote Of The Week: April 19th, 2010

Eating Disorders In The News: April 03, 2010

Search This Blog