Recently in Anorexia nervosa Category
If you’ve had anorexia for more than 7 years, you may be eligible to take part in this London based treatment trial. It’s a multi-centre trial taking place in the UK and Australia. For more info visit the website or email the trial research assistant, Amy Brown, ambrown@sgul.ac.uk
I currently have a couple of slots available to see people who would like to work on their eating difficulties using a cognitive behavioural approach. I see clients near Kings Cross in central London. If you’re interested in hearing more about the way I work, please email me
I just came across this brief article about recovery from anorexia in relation to the changes that occur in pregnancy from Grace Bowman in the Guardian.
Volunteers are needed for a research project within the University of Nottingham to investigate the factors associated with eating disorders in women of 35 and above . Women who are 35 or older are invited to participate in this on-line e-interview study. Please contact Kay at lwxkw@nottingham.ac.uk if you might be interested and for further details.
Some good news for a change! The government has announced an award of £2 million to the eating disorders team at the Institute of Psychiatry to research and develop new treatments for anorexia nervosa.
Read more on the BBC news website.
Congratulations to all concerned.
There has been considerable controversy recently following the decision by the Madrid Fashion Week to ban models below a certain size (BMI) from their catwalks. (This was followed more recently by a similar decision by the Clothes Show in Birmingham)
As far as I understand the beliefs behind this are twofold
(1) Such models have anorexia nervosa (may have anorexia nervosa?) and thus should not be working
(2) Such models, even if they don't have an eating disorder, set a bad example to impressionable young women who might go on to develop eating disorders
Now don't get me wrong. I think that the decision, in that it raises the profile of eating disorders and encourages debate, was probably a good one (although a naive one, as I'll go on to explain). But I would question both of the aims above. Firstly, it is not clear that all 'underweight' women have anorexia (or any other eating disorder). Some women are truly, naturally extremely thin. Weight, like other characteristic of humans, varies a great deal between individuals and it is as bad to automatically assume someone has an eating disorder because they are thin as it is to assume they do not have one because they are normal weight or overweight.
Of course, women can be underweight for other reasons, such as illness or drug misuse. Similarly, women who are not underweight may also have eating disorders (particularly bulimia nervosa, which is quite a bit more common than anorexia). Ignoring those women because their eating disorder is less easy to detect seems rather unbalanced.
I have spent many years attempting to 'diagnose' eating disorders, as part of my research and clinical practice, using various tools to help in this. Many, such as the Eating Disorders Examination, developed by Chris Fairburn and colleagues, are complex and time consuming to administer even after specialist training. The suggestion that one can 'diagnose' an eating problem simply by weighing someone is laughably naive.
The second supposed aim of the move, to reduce eating disorders in impressionable young women by stopping them from seeing emaciated models and trying to imitate them is also quite flawed. There is very limited evidence that exposure to to such models causes eating disorders (although it is possible that it may prove the 'last straw' in some particularly vulnerable women). What we do know is that exposure to such models reduces self esteem amongst young women, which may not lead to eating disorders, but is likely to just increase the amount of misery in the world. Most would agree that this is a bad thing, so from that point of view the move makes sense.
Finally, the idea that any model below the specified BMI will be 'given medical treatment' is another enormously naive idea. We know that people with eating disorders often have very mixed feelings about their condition and about recovery. The most conflicted amongst them are likely to be those who, despite the negatives of their condition (weakness, sensitivity to cold, osteoporosis, heart problems etc etc) are promised the highly valued rewards of money and celebrity status through their work as models. Are these women likely to accept the medical treatment offered, especially when it may compromise their career.
I'd like to see a whole range of body shapes and size represented in catwalk and magazine models, as well as different ethnicities and ages. Campaigns like Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty are very much along the right lines.
Thanks to HoutLust for drawing my attention to a pretty hard hitting new campaign from the Eating Disorders Association. You can see the ad on the Houtlust site, which depicts tips from pro-anorexia websites and aims to raise awareness in parents and carers who often miss the signs of eating disorders in their kids. Even after working in the field for many years, I found this a shocking campaign. I've always felt ambivalent about discussing pro-anorexia sites on this site for fear of giving them more fuel, but I can see that the aim of the campaign is an honorable one. I'd be interested to hear other people's views.
In a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Walsh and colleagues studied women who had received psychotherapy for anorexia nervosa and reached the normal range for weight. They then compared fluoxetine (Prozac) and placebo in these women, who continued to receive weekly psychotherapy. The percentage of those remaining in recovery after 1 year was effectively the same in both the active and placebo groups (around 30%). This suggests that Prozac does not help to prevent relapse in anorexia. This finding is in contrast to a small study conducted by Kaye and colleagues in 1991 who suggested there might be a role for antidepressants like Prozac in preventing relapse.
Thanks to Joel Yager for drawing my attention to this (via the AED mailing list).
I've just heard about an eating disorders online support group, sponsored by Milestones, an eating disorders program based in North Miami Beach. The group is open to anyone looking for eating disorder information and supportand has over 1300 members. The forum can be accessed at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/milestonesinrecovery.
It seems like a pretty active list and well worth a look.
The latest issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders is a special issue devoted to all aspects of anorexia nervosa. Contents are listed below. To get access to the articles, see the journal website.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS
VOL 37; SUPP SPECIAL ISSUE ON ANOREXIA NERVOSA; 2005
ISSN 0276-3478
pp. S2-S9
Anorexia Nervosa: Definition, Epidemiology, and Cycle of Risk
Bulik, C. M.; Reba, L.; Siega-Riz, A.-M.; Reichborn-Kjennerud, T.
pp. S10-S14
Translational Approaches to Understanding Anorexia Nervosa
Klein, D. A.; Walsh, B. T.
pp. S15-S19
Neurobiology of Anorexia Nervosa: Clinical Implications of Alterations of the Function of Serotonin and Other Neuronal Systems
Kaye, W. H.; Frank, G. K.; Bailer, U. F.; Henry, S. E.
pp. S20-S21
Commentary: Psychopathology of Anorexia Nervosa
Halmi, K.
pp. S22-S25
Assessment of Anorexia Nervosa
Pike, K. M.
pp. S26-S30
Evidence-Based Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa
Fairburn, C. G.
pp. S31-S34
Health Services Research in Anorexia Nervosa
Striegel-Moore, R. H.
pp. S35-S40
A Community-Based Training Program for Eating Disorders and Its Contribution to a Provincial Network of Specialized Services
McVey, G. L.; Davis, R.; Kaplan, A. S.; Katzman, D. K.; Pinhas, L.; Geist, R.; Heinmaa, M.; Forsyth, G.
pp. S41-S42
Commentary: Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: More Questions than Answers
Woodside, D. B.
pp. S43-S48
A Review and Primer of Molecular Genetic Studies of Anorexia Nervosa
Klump, K. L.; Gobrogge, K. L.
pp. S49-S51
Functional Neuroimaging in Early-Onset Anorexia Nervosa
Lask, B.; Gordon, I.; Christie, D.; Frampton, I.; Chowdhury, U.; Watkins, B.
pp. S52-S59
Medical Complications in Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa: A Review of the Literature
Katzman, D. K.
pp. S60-S63
Pharmacologic Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: Where Do We Go from Here?
Attia, E.; Schroeder, L.
pp. S64-S67
Family-Based Treatment of Eating Disorders
Lock, J.; le Grange, D.
pp. S68-S71
Personality and Anorexia Nervosa
Wonderlich, S. A.; Lilenfeld, L. R.; Riso, L. P.; Engel, S.; Mitchell, J. E.
pp. S72-S76
Neuropsychological Studies in Anorexia Nervosa
Tchanturia, K.; Campbell, I. C.; Morris, R.; Treasure, J.
pp. S77-S79
Parenting Concerns of Women with Histories of Eating Disorders
Mazzeo, S. E.; Zucker, N. L.; Gerke, C. K.; Mitchell, K. S.; Bulik, C. M.
pp. S80-S86
The Process of Recovery in Eating Disorder Sufferers' Own Words: An Internet-Based Study
Keski-Rahkonen, A.; Tozzi, F.
pp. S87-S89
Commentary: From Genes to Treatment Response: New Research into the Psychobiology of Anorexia Nervosa
Kaplan, A. S.
pp. S90-S94
The Future of Treatment Research in Anorexia Nervosa
Strober, M.
pp. S95-S97
Diagnostic Criteria for Anorexia Nervosa: Looking Ahead to DSM-V
Mitchell, J. E.; Cook-Myers, T.; Wonderlich, S. A.
pp. S98-S100
Research Training in Anorexia Nervosa
Marcus, M. D.
pp. S101-S102
Federal Advocacy for Anorexia Nervosa: An American Model
Cogan, J. C.; Franko, D. L.; Herzog, D. B.
