Eating Disorders

Size Does Not Equal a Healthy Body
I will never forget the night my 6′3″ tall, slender brother and his even taller, slender friend bought two tickets for the 7:15 p.m. showing of the movie “Troy,” starring an unusually ripped and rippled Brad Pitt. At 10:30 that same night my phone rang, and I heard my brother say to me, “My friend [...]
Body Dissatisfaction and Pregnancy
Pregnancy is associated with dramatic changes in women’s body shape and size, and for many women, these changes trigger mixed emotions. For some, pregnancy weight gain can lead to “body dissatisfaction,” or a negative body image. A recent study evaluated changes in women’s weight and body satisfaction from before pregnancy to one month after delivery. It [...]
Insecurity May Contribute to Obesity
Researchers studying food behavior have identified a crucial element in overeating. Disinhibited eating is a pattern of behavior that involves eating too quickly and a repeated lack of success when dieting. Many studies show it is linked to higher body mass index (BMI), and is a strong risk factor for overweight and obesity. This tendency to overeat [...]
Can Nutrition Help Fight or Ward Off Depression?
Depression is a debilitating but widespread condition involving low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Nutrition may have the potential to affect a person’s risk of depression, its symptoms and its severity. The link is frequently explored in research studies, but the results are not yet conclusive. Some aspects [...]
10 Tips to Ease Concerns About Your Weight
Given the focus on weight by the health establishment, the government and the media, it is not surprising that many people in this country are anxiously asking the same question. And there is no shortage of recommendations out there directing people to lose weight with this or that diet, lifestyle program or eating regimen. Unfortunately, the [...]
A Chance to Live
Inside every human being is a drive. Sometimes the drive is clear cut: he or she wants to be a doctor, a lawyer, a wife, a mother, a husband, a father, or something else entirely. Sometimes the drive is muddy, murky and hard to understand. Sometimes that drive, the very thing that is supposed to [...]
The Eating Disorder Beast Can Be Beaten
I’m 15 years old, it’s 3:00 p.m., school is out and I can’t wait to get home and be alone. I’m dizzy, lightheaded, and cold. As I go to my locker to get the necessary books I need for tomorrow’s homework, I’m stopped by friends to talk and discuss afternoon plans. [...]
Anticipated Fullness Is Crucial to Calorie Intake
Experts have challenged two basic assumptions behind food choices and the causes of obesity. Drs. Jeff Brunstrom and Peter Rogers of the University of Bristol, UK, investigated the theory that we eat larger amounts of tasty foods, and that these foods tend to be energy-dense. They explain that highly palatable food is more widely available than ever [...]
Purge: Rehab Diaries
In our society, eating disorders are mostly misunderstood and glamorized. We’re told that everyone with an eating disorder is skin and bones. That just by looking at someone we can easily spot the starvation, the purging, the bingeing, carved all over their emaciated bodies. We think of individuals with eating disorders as models and celebrities, [...]
Q & A with Eating Disorder Specialist Sari Fine Shepphird: Part 1
Sari Fine Shepphird, Ph.D, a Los Angeles clinical psychologist and eating disorder specialist, is the author of 100 Questions & Answers about Anorexia Nervosa. Psych Central contributor Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., spoke with her about common myths surrounding anorexia, the media’s impact and healthy body image in kids. Be sure to check out Part 2 of [...]
Demystifying Treatment for Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Some dismiss body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) as vanity; others believe it’s a rare and extreme condition. Though many misconceptions continue to circulate, BDD is a real, fairly common body image disorder. It affects men and women equally and has shades of severity. Fortunately, BDD can be successfully treated with medication and psychotherapy. In fact, both [...]
Are We Slaves to Hedonic Hunger?
Psychologists looking for new ways to describe and explain eating behavior have come up with a novel phrase, “hedonic hunger.” Dr. Michael R. Lowe and colleagues at Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa., describe the phenomenon as “an appetitive counterpart to the psychological effects of other hedonically-driven activities such as drug use and compulsive gambling.” “Just as [...]
Eating Too Quickly May Encourage Weight Gain
Researchers studying food behavior have discovered that eating too quickly may be an important contributor to becoming overweight. Eating quickly previously has been linked to a higher body mass index, according to Prof. Hiroyasu Iso of Osaka University, Japan, and colleagues in an article on the British Medical Journal website. The team investigated these [...]
Overeating: It’s All In Your Head
The following is an excerpt from the book Three Minute Therapy and focuses on the topic of overeating and how cognitive-behavioral techniques can be used to help a person overcome this concern. They say that inside every fat person there’s a thin person fighting to get out. In Suzie’s case, the thin person appeared to be [...]
Body Dysmorphic Disorder: When the Reflection Is Revolting
Fifteen-year-old Joel wakes up two hours before school to begin cleaning his face and covering up his bad skin. Many days this means he’s either late to school or doesn’t show up at all. He spends his entire allowance on skin care products and tanning to cure or camouflage his acne. When he does make [...]