Recently in Binge eating Category
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.
I've just discovered a really clear, helpful introduction to binge eating disorder at the National Institutes of Health. Binge eating disorder is a disorder related to bulimia nervosa in which people binge on large amounts of food but do not compensate for this, for example by making themselves sick or using laxatives.
The factsheet covers commonly asked questions about the condition such as 'what is binge eating disorder?', 'how do I know if I have it?', 'what causes it?' and 'how can it be treated?'.
An article in today's Times newspaper discusses Night Eating Syndrome, a rather neglected eating problem in which sufferers binge eat primarily or only at night.
For further reading, have a look at:
Binge eating disorder and the night-eating syndrome
A Stunkard, R Berkowitz, T Wadden, C Tanrikut, E (1996)
Binge eating disorder and the night-eating syndrome, International Journal of Obesity, 20(1):1-6
and
ME Gluck, A Geliebter, T Satov (2001)) Night Eating Syndrome Is Associated with Depression, Low
Self-Esteem, Reduced Daytime Hunger, and Less Weight Loss in Obese Outpatients, Obesity Research 9:264-267
If you're looking for a support group to get help with an eating disorder, Joanna Poppink's excellent site has a very useful listing of groups across the USA and internationally.
I get many questions from readers about how to get the best help for an eating disorder. This post is an attempt to summarise some useful pointers.
Of course, the process for getting help varies in different countries, but in most parts of the world, the best place to start is with your general practitioner (GP) or family doctor. You may get a varying response, depending on the doctor's knowledge and skill in dealing with EDs. He or she may have good ideas about treatment, may offer treatment him or herself, or make a referral to another service.
Remedyfind is a free, non-commercial site that lets individuals rate the effectiveness of the treatments they have used for particular health conditions. Its owner, Brett Hodges, started it 3 years ago to try to find help with treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. After doing the CFS section he realized the same approach could also work for other chronic health conditions and has recently added an eating disorders section.
Thanks to Richard Gordon (via the AED list) for drawing my attention to a fascinating article in the Harvard Review. Written by Craig Lambert and entitled 'The Way We Eat Now', it is an excellent review of recent thinking in obesity, thorough and scholarly without ever getting impenetrable.
This question is one of the most commonly asked by students, researchers and sufferers alike. It's also one of the hardest to get information on, so I thought that as I needed to put together this information for another purpose, I'd also post it here. I'm very grateful to Laura Currin, researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry who helped me out with much of this information.
The Eating Disorders Association and the Bethlem Royal Hospital (South London and Maudsley NHS Trust) are co-organising a conference for carers of people with eating disorders. The conference will begin on Friday evening with an informal networking event for carers and professionals, followed by a day of presentations and discussions on Saturday.
You can book a place through Christine Hallams, Fitzmary One, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Rd, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 3BX or via the EDA website, which also has the full programme and details of last year's conference.
