After reading this chapter I was very interested to know if picking and nibbling at food was associated with eating disorders. I thought it could be because typically when someone has an eating disorder, they are body conscious, and picking or nibbling at food would allow them to be seen eating with it only being random small portions. I found a study done by the University of Chicago that examined the relationship between picking and nibbling (P&N) and eating disorders (ED). To do the study they used 515 children ranging in age from 7-18 who presented o one outpatient ED research‐clinical program were assessed for ED and comorbid pathology. They found that 214 of the children participated in P&N. These individuals were older and had a higher percent expected body weight than those who denied P&N.P&N was not associated with ED diagnosis, ED pathology in youth with bulimia nervosa or subclinical bulimia nervosa, binge eating, compensatory behaviors, secret eating, or the presence of a mood or anxiety disorder. They concluded that P&N was prevalent but not significantly associated with ED pathology.
Kass, A. E., Accurso, E. C., Goldschmidt, A. B., Anam, S., Byrne, C. E., Kinasz, K., & ... Le Grange, D. (2015). Picking and nibbling in children and adolescents with eating disorders. International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 48(8), 1102-1105. doi:10.1002/eat.22444
This is an interesting post! This connection makes sense because if a person is anorexic, for example, it seems that they would engage in P&N to make their food last longer since they only let themselves eat a very little amount. From my observations through middle and high school, I have just assumed that P&N was a characteristic of people with disordered eating (specifically girls). It was nice to hear the research behind it! Overall, this was a great post!
Good Post! I like question you chose to look into. It makes sense that a person with an eating disorder would also pick and eat especially in a social situation. Even though the research wasn't significantly linked with ED, its still interesting and could be a an indicator of ED.
Hi Regan, great post! I have also observed people who eat like this during meals and wondered if they were either not very hungry or body conscious. I also wonder about people who eat with a hand over their mouth even when they are not talking. I have seen this from a few people and when asked they say that they just feel uncomfortable eating in front of people.
Although there was no association between P&N and ED, I had a similar thought when I was going through the chapter. The prevalence does make sense due to P&N restricting eating which has similar features as someone with an ED. Great post!
Regan, this was an interesting post! I had never really thought about P&N when talking about ED. I'm not surprised that there is a prevalence of P&N with ED since many people with ED try to limit their food intake.
I think your topic was a response to some stereotypes regarding EDs. I think most people assume a sign of ED would be picking and nibbling at food opposed to just eating or claiming to be done when full. The amount of those who did pick and nibble does not seem nearly as significant a number as I would have expected. This was interesting.
Regan, This was a very interesting post because I have babysat a lot of kids who were just not big eaters and they would pick and nibble on food instead of just eat it. I never considered is an eating disorder because I just assumes they were picky. Seeing there is no prevalence though makes me wonder if it is jus a result of an eating disorder or it is just because they are picky eaters. Good post!
This was a good question to bring up. I think that in this situation, P&N can also make it look like they are eating just to please others around them, while not actually eating a lot. Good post!
Regan, I wasn't surprised by the results of your study, P&N being prevalent but not associated with ED pathology. That being said, when I originally think of P&N I'm reminded more of younger children. Specifically, children that pick and nibble food when they're "picky" about the food in front of them. I wonder if they're actually picky or if they're self-conscious at a young age?
After reading this chapter, I was very intrigued by eating disorders. It seems as though disordered eating is extremely common in women, especially throughout middle and high school, and nearly everyone has been impacted by it in some shape or form at one point in their lives (i.e. having the eating disorder, knowing someone who has one, such as a family member or friend). In my personal experience, I saw some sort of connection between eating disorders and girls who are high-achievers. This made me wonder: Are there certain characteristics that make girls more susceptible to eating disorders? Is there any research behind my previous observation?
In a study performed this year, a sample of university women were used to examine how/if personality traits and affective variables (i.e. moods, attitudes) influence anorexia nervosa (AN). Results suggested that maladaptive perfectionism (i.e. unhealthy and severe self-criticism) and depressive symptoms were related to eating disorder preoccupations (i.e. excessive focus on body image/food intake). Dietary restraint was also associated with maladaptive perfectionism along with affective liability (sudden, fluctuating emotions). These findings demonstrate the importance of personality and affective traits when disordered eating in considered, which could potentially help the diagnosis and treatment process. I really enjoyed reading this study because it was very helpful, detailed, and informative, and it fully answered my question. Looking to further research, I would like to know if these findings did impact the assessment process in regards to eating disorders, such as AN.
Lavender, J. M., Mason, T. B., Utzinger, L. M., Wonderlich, S. A., Crosby, R. D., Engel, S. G., . . . Peterson, C. B. (2016, July 30). Examining affect and perfectionism in relation to eating disorder symptoms among women with anorexia nervosa. Psychiatry Research, 241, 267-272. Retrieved November 29, 2016, from PsycINFO.
I really liked your post! I find it interesting that depressive symptoms are still associated with eating disorders because of the fact that social media and some people have become more active in promoting differences within people. We now see that just because someone is overweight it is not necessary a bad thing since things seem to be more accepting nowadays. You mentioned that the women had these maladaptive perfectionism ideas which is one of the big reasons that I think we have eating disorders in general. I think that a huge way to fix this is (as the post below mentioned) to have compassion focused therapy and let EVERYONE know that their body is okay. There's a difference between being healthy and being perfect, and as long as you reach a certain healthy level in your weight that should be fine and the need to reach perfection is unnecessary. There definitely needs to be more focusing on getting those ideas to people that worry too much about their weight.
This was a really good look at intrinsic risk factors that might affect ED prevalence. It's also a really good use of the diathesis-stress model--that it's not just environment that causes a problem (e.g., the normative discontent with appearance that affects American/Western women), but that there are things that can raise your likelihood of developing an ED. That's never a good thing, but hopefully identification can mean targeting during treatment. Further, hopefully we can do more research into protective factors related to personality traits as well.
Hi Erin, great post! I have also wondered if certain characteristics make people more at risk for getting an ED. I have also wondered if it is more common in women or girls, does the mother's self esteem have an influence on her daughter's? If so, could an ED be cyclic in nature? I agree that perfectionism could be a characteristic of an ED. It makes sense that someone who wants every realm of their life to be "perfect" would want their body to be as well.
Erin, This was a great post. I enjoyed reading about it and looking at the comparisons of our two studies and how views and personalities can effect the eating disorder. Personality differences can really effect how people bounce back from negative comments and expectations so putting the two together would be very interesting!
Erin, Good job! It doesn't surprise me that perfectionism would be a characteristic, as one may look in the mirror and wish they looked like a model, etc. I always thought maybe depression played a role as well, but I was glad to see your article clarified it did. Good job!
Erin, I really liked your post because it is very true that depression is linked to eating disorders. I had a friend when I was in high school who had an eating disorder because she was really depressed. I thought it was very interesting how perfectionism was related to eating disorders also. Very good post!
As I was beginning to read the chapter I wondered what treatments were offered to people with eating disorders. A concern for me was wondering how the media influenced how we look at body shapes and judge ourselves. As a teenage girl I had many times were I didn't like my body because media said I should be a skinnier so I wondered how do we reverse these negative thoughts we have about our own image that media is drilling in our brains.
I found an article that looked at Compassion-focused Therapy (CFT) and the reduction of shame. The study had 97 participants. The participants were mainly female and Caucasian. The average age was 28 with ages ranging from 17-57 years of age. There were multiple group therapies with similar goals of medical stabilization, weight restoration, eradication of binge eating. Self-compassion was implicitly encouraged in some groups but not all and no group was devoted to primarily building self-compassion or reducing shame. They had 3 measures, one for eating disorder symptoms, shame, and self-compassion. This study lasted 12 weeks. They found that participants who experienced larger decreases in shame within the first 4 weeks had faster decreases in eating disorder symptoms over 12 weeks of treatment. They also found that participants who had greater increases in their level of self-compassion had faster reduction in shame over 12 weeks. This research shows that feelings of shame could contribute to maintenance of eating disorders. This also suggests that developing self-compassion may help relieve feelings of shame.
This is an important study because we can see how shaming can possibly lead to maintenance of an eating disorder and how self-compassion lessens shaming. This is important to further treatments of eating disorders so we are able to help as best we can and hopefully long term, change media pressures and societal views.
Kelly, A. C., Carter, J. C., & Borairi, S. (2014). Are improvements in shame and self-compassion early in eating disorders treatment associated with better patient outcomes?. The International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 47(1), 54-64. doi:10.1002/eat.22196
I completely agree with you on how the media puts out an ideal body image that everyone should look like. Its really sad how judgemental everyone is and that is the world we live in. It's not surprising that eating disorders are becoming more common especially with teenagers. It makes alot of sense that the patients had less symptoms when they were able to feel less shame+develop self compassion. Compassion Therapy sounds like a great tool to help people with eating disorders and more studies using it should be done in the future. Good Post!
I love your post! I like how you searched for a more unconventional approach to treatment. I think CFT is significant because the changing of thoughts to more positive viewpoints is a more long-lasting treatment, which might work to prevent relapses in the future. I could also see how CFT could lessen maladaptive perfectionism, which is what I wrote my post over. You did a great job!
I really like how you pulled in media perceptions of weight and shape here, and how strongly those have affected what we "should" look like. I'd be really interested, in the context of children, to see how early that kind of dissatisfaction related with media consumption starts. I've read statistics like 50% of ten-year-old girls are dissatisfied with their bodies, and I'd really be interested to see if it's common in children younger than that.
Great post! I feel like a lot of people struggle with body shaming and so I loved that they looked at that in the study you read. I also loved how it is self-compassion, I haven't heard that term before and I like it a lot. Compassion Therapy sounds like a great tool!
Megan, I enjoyed reading your post! I think that as a society, we are becoming more and more aware of the negative effects the media can have on a person's self image, females especially. With that, we are also seeing different social media outlets who are encouraging girls and women to be more confident and comfortable in their own skin. In my opinion bringing awareness to this topic is a good thing. In most cases, worrying about our body image is unnecessary and even damaging when it leads to negative outcomes such as eating disorders. This study provides concrete evidence that when a person is more accepting (and less doubtful) of themselves, they reduce the risk of putting themselves in a harmful situations.
Hey Megan, Good question, I feel as though a lot of instances, even beginning symptoms of EDs come from shame. With the way the media is, and how people are portrayed, it's very easy to fall feat to "why don't I look like that?" Good thing to think about and look into.
The media's infuence on body image has been a huge concern of mine for a long time. I'm an older sister and older cousin of girls and it's something that is present on my mind a lot. This research ties in a lot with a women's studies course I took and it's a very real problem. Thanks for sharing research with us about eliminating the shame associated with the disorder. Very insightful.
Megan- Great blog post and question! I feel like most women feel the need to be skinny or have distorted body image issues solely because of the media. The media can be cruel and make it seem like happiness and being skinny are correlated. We are our worst critics and learning how to love our body the way it was made can help with body image issues. Also, learning how eat right and exercise can help a lot. Overall great post!
When we were going over Eating disorders, I was interested in the Htr1b gene and the altered serotonin levels which are said to be correlated to people with eating disorders. I found a study that looked into people diagnosed by dsm5 standards with Anorexia, Bulimia Nervosa, and eating disorders that looked for genetic links. This is a pretty cool study since the etiology of eating disorders has never really been proven. In the study they found evidence that the htr1b gene may be implicated in the etiology of Bulimia Nervosa. They also found that a variant of the gene is associated with severe anxiety in Anorexia Nervosa. With more research and a larger sample, I think they could find a conclusive etiology for eating disorders. This would help develop medications and hopefully in the future be able to treat/ cure all eating disorders.
Hernández, S., Camarena, B., González, L., Caballero, A., Flores, G., & Aguilar, A. (2016). A family-based association study of the HTR1B gene in eating disorders. Revista Brasileira De Psiquiatria, 38(3), 239-242. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2016-1936
The etiology of eating disorders seem very interesting. While I agree there is some genetic aspect of this disorder, I believe it is the gene- environment interaction that makes this disorder distinct. I also would be interested in this genes association with addicts, as these disorders appear to have similar characteristics, and habits. I believe it would be very beneficial to find a conclusive etiology of eating disorders but I believe adapting the environment or even changing the environment would be more affective for treatment.
Shawn, Really good job on your post! I really like reading the etiology of disorders, and was interested at seeing the exact gene you discussed. I agree there should be more research and also agree with Kyleigh- that it is probably a gene-enviornment interaction.
Shawn, Very interesting post! By looking at your citation I can see that the research is fairly recent. I can't help but wonder if they are continuing this research. It would be absolutely tremendous if we could find a genetic factor to further help out these individuals.
Good job on your post! I thought it was interesting that results showed that a risk factor that maintained eating disorders was attributed to shaming. It made sense that if the participants had self-compassion they would be more likely to show a decrease in shame. I like how it all went back to the shaming and how this is how people with eating disorders learn to slowly accept themselves and progress towards eradicating the eating disorder. This shows how this can be translated to actual scenarios that involve bullying in schools and how these behaviors are maintained due to certain things being said that shouldn't.
I am a Kinesiology major so one big issue we cover a lot is obesity in children. One of the big problems with obesity is that if a person has it as a child they are over 50% more likely to continue to be obese as an adult. This got me interested on binge eating in children and it's association between childhood obesity. I found a study from 2006 that evaluated 55 children between the age of 5-13. They used a measurement instrument called a C-BEDS (Children Binge Eating Disorder Scale) to measure the binge eating in children. A SCID test was also used to gather information. The BEDS is normally used to test adults however this study showed that it can also be understood by children. The study showed that there is an association with children with BED and that are obese. Their hope with the findings from this study is that they can detect BED sooner and help the child get on a track to a healthier lifestyle.
Shapiro, J. R., Woolson, S. L., Hamer, R. M., Kalarchian, M. A., Marcus, M. D., & Bulik, C. M. (2006). Evaluating binge eating disorder in children: Development of the children's binge eating disorder scale (C-BEDS). International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40(1), 82-89. doi:10.1002/eat.20318
As obesity is a very popular topic in America, I find this studying to be just as popular. It is crazy to think how much a parent can influence their child, and how much a environment/society can do the same. The binge eating disorders within children, could have a lot to do with their parents eating habits, or could deal with the lack of food in earlier years. While binge eating for some children is an uncontrollable indulgent, for others it is a uncontrollable appetite created from a worry about their next meal because they do not know when or if they will get another meal. I believe awareness of healthy portion eating is a great start to minimize obesity, as well as childhood hunger.
Leeann, I think that the topic of childhood obesity is becoming more prevalent in our society today. I'm not sure if its because people are just becoming more aware of it or if its becoming more of an issue than before. Any sort of research that can help with the early detection, prevention of, and treatment for childhood obesity is a good thing. It is important to show children how to lead healthy lives. After reading your post, I would like to know more about binge eating in children. What causes it? Can they have some sort of predisposition that encourages them to binge eat, or is it a learned behavior?
Leeann, This sounds like an interesting article! I wonder what treatments there are for those who binge eat to prevent obesity since there is this association. I also liked Kyleigh's response about binge eating because they don't know where the next meal is coming from. When I first think of binge eating I think of the uncontrollable indulgent. Overall, great post!
Great post, Leeann! I'm not surprised that children who are obese are more likely to binge eat. I'm glad that they have found this relationship though, so more children can get help with BED sooner. Did the study say who often the children would binge eat? I wonder if children who are obese with BED would have more episodes than children who are not obese.
After studying eating disorders in the text, I wanted to know more about the causes of eating disorders in children. Specifically, do a child’s parents play a role in these causes? One study I found questioned whether a parent with an eating disorder created any sort of likelihood that their child would develop an eating disorder. This study used a large multigenerational sample, with the help of clinicians and referrals in identifying eating disorders in both the parents and children. There were a total of 158,697 children within the sample group, all ranging from ages 12-24. The participants first entered the study at the age of 12, and were followed up for a possible diagnosis of any type of eating disorder. The results showed that there were higher rates of a parent having a history of an eating disorder for the participants who were diagnosed with an eating disorder. This means that the evidence supported the hypothesis that a parental eating disorder is associated with a child developing an eating disorder. Moreover, the results also showed that there was a strong association between mothers having a history of eating disorders and female children having an eating disorder. As for the males involved in this study (fathers and sons) the number of diagnosed eating disorder cases were too low for this group to identify any significant evidence. So, the results from this study provided evidence for an association between eating disorders in parents and children, as well as evidence that females more commonly experience eating disorders when compared to males. The findings of this research help to provide more information on the possible causes of eating disorders in children. The article mentioned that these findings were beneficial in both the detection and treatment of eating disorders. I wonder if there are any available programs for families so that both parents and children can work collectively to overcome and treat their disorders. Bould, H., U. Sovio, I. Koupil, C. Dalman, N. Micali, G. Lewis, and C. Magnusson. "Do Eating Disorders in Parents Predict Eating Disorders in Children? Evidence from a Swedish Cohort." Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 132.1 (2015): 51-59. Web.
I think you posed a good question. Since EDs are most commonly associated with social and environmental factors, it would make sense for parents showing symptoms of ED to influence ED behavior in their children. The results of this study are what I expected, but the strong female relationship is interesting. I would like to know why that learned associated behavior is more prevalent between mothers and daughters.
I found your post really interesting. It makes sense that parents with symptoms of ED could influence their children as well. Since like Alex-Marie said ED is very commonly associated with environment and social factors. Like the media having a strong impact on women and how we are suppose to look. I've always heard that women are more commonly to develop ED as opposed to males, but I am really curious as to why the mothers and daughters show a much stronger association as opposed to the fathers and sons.
Lacy- Interesting question! As I was reading I was thinking the same thing. I wondered if a eating disorder was a learned behavior and if so where did it come from. It honestly didn't surprise me that there was a strong correlation with mothers having history of an eating disorder and their daughters having a higher rate of having one as well. I hope in the future there will be programs that can help those parents teach their kids nutrition and eating healthy. Overall great post! I liked reading it!
As I was reading the chapter I really began to wonder about eating disorders in college students. My question was if college increases the likelihood of eating disorders or even increases the severity of symptoms?
I found a study that focused on whether the transition into college changed eating disorder symptoms and related attitudes. 342 women were surveyed both in their HS senior year and a year later in their freshman year of college. The survey measured body and weight factors, self-perceptions, a eating disorder behaviors. Some results were that the average BMI increased slightly from HS to college, the body satisfaction levels decreased, but dieting decreased. The main finding, though, was that after comparisons of disordered eating classifications were done there was no difference from HS to college. The girl's behaviors were relatively stable. The study did mention that this did not mean the eating disorders went away or even decreased, they simply did not change with time.
At first I was quite surprised at these results because I thought for sure college and it's stressors/ pressure to find yourself would influence those with ED's to increase their tendencies. That being said, I think it makes a lot of sense that if the behaviors were already rooted before college they are likely to persist in a way that they already have.
Vohs, K. D., Heatherton, T. F., & Herrin, M. (2001). Disordered eating and the transition to college: A prospective study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29(3), 280-288. doi:10.1002/eat.1019
Ashley, I found the results of your study to be very interesting as well. After thinking about it I realized that it would be interesting to assess girls through high school for eating disorders and increased symptoms. I know for majority of people high school can be a rough time in a person's life so I can only imagine what those results would look like.
Ashley, This is very interesting! I, like you, would have thought that college would have caused more stressors and effected their eating habits. I wonder what the results would have been if they were studied throughout college and through their first couple of years after college.
Reading the chapter, I noticed how little was said about sexuality and eating disorders. Not only was there so little said, it only spoke of gay boys/men and nothing about the other letters in LGBT. So I was curious about how it affects lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people as well.
In a study done by A. Shearer, J. Russon, J. Herres, T. Atte, T. Kodish and G. Diamond, at Drexel University, they found that gay and bisexual men do have an increased risk for eating disorders, but lesbian and bisexual women showed mixed results. Across the board, individuals stating that they are strictly attracted to or physical with the opposite sex showed lower instances of disordered eating, while men and women both strictly attracted to or physical with the same sex showed higher instances. What surprised me most was that the highest individuals that showed disordered eating habits were bisexual women. It makes me wonder if this is because now they feel they have more people to please and present themselves to.
It was nice seeing that studies were done for these other individuals and not just gay males, even if it's all they talked about in the textbook
Shearer, A., Russon, J., Herres, J., Atte, T., Kodish, T., & Diamond, G. (2015). The relationship between disordered eating and sexuality amongst adolescents and young adults. Eating Behaviors, 19115-119. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.08.001
Really good question! Everyone matters and it is nice that someone took them into consideration for this study. It does make you wonder since bisexual women are the highest ones showing eating disorders if it is because they feel they need to impress everyone of both genders instead of just one or the other. I also wonder why it is that those attracted to the same sex show higher instances of an eating disorder compared to those attracted to the opposite sex.
Haley, I liked the point you made about wondering if bisexual women have disordered eating behaviors because they are not only trying to please the opposite sex but the same sex as well. I would have thought lesbians as well as bisexual women have increased disordered eating because as we talked about in class- sometimes females can be quite judgmental of each other. Overall, great question!
While reading through this chapter I began to wonder if a person's life status (upper, middle, or lower class)can play a role in the development of their eating disorder?
I did find an article that talks about the relationship between SES and eating disorder behaviors in a community involving 17,571 girls in grades 7-12. The survey they did has been used several times with over 75,000 students. There were a variety of questions involving body image, weight satisfaction, dieting and eating patterns. Students identified themselves as American Indian (8.3%), Black (3.3%), White (83.4%), Hispanic (2.0%) and Asian (2.0%). They used a chi-square test and analysis of variance to control body mass index. Although the results showed significant positive relationship between SES and unhealthy dieting behaviors. There was not a relationship between "self-report of clinically significant eating-disorder behaviors and SES."
In this article SES does not appear to be a significant factor. It was kind of hard for me to find an article about the relationship between eating-disorder and SES. I feel like there isn't enough evidence yet to really determine if their social status does or doesn't have any effect and it is something to look further into!
Rogers, L., Resnick, M. D., Mitchell, J. E., & Blum, R. W. (1997). The relationship between socioeconomic status and eating-disordered behaviors in a community sample of adolescent girls. The International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 22(1), 15-23.
Perhaps, the reason the study couldn't find conclusive results was because their participant population was already 83.4% white. I bet if they surveyed a more diverse group of girls, they would be able to determine if there is a correlation between eating disorders and SES status. I know in class today, Dr. Van Allen stated that it is more prevalent in high SES families by a wide margin. I'm sorry it was hard to find an article concerning your question. That can be pretty frustrating, but great post, thank you for sharing!
While reading the chapter over eating disorders I noticed that there was not a lot of information on the start of menarche among those diagnosed. I had also heard that girls with Anorexia started later. The book mentions that there is still debate on whether this result is from the weight, lack of nutrients, or other causes related to Anorexia and not the diagnosis itself. I tried to find an article talking about it and I did, but they compare those with Anorexia with girls with Bulimia. I still found this information interesting. They stated that girls with Anorexia experienced menarche before those with Bulimia. The article also stated that girls with Anorexia had very little interest in dating and sexual experiences. I found this to be very interesting. I wonder if this is due to hormones in association with a disorder or if it is because of insecurities regarding body image. I would be interested in doing more research on this, I have always found eating disorders very interesting.
Mangweth-Matzek, B., Rupp, C. I., Hausmann, A., Kemmler, G., & Biebl, W. (2007). Menarche, puberty, and first sexual activities in eating-disordered patients as compared with a psychiatric and a nonpsychiatric control group. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40(8), 705-710. doi:10.1002/eat.20431
As I read through the chapter, I became interested in seeing whether or not there was signs in early childhood related to someone who is diagnosed with an eating disorder in adolescence.
I found a study that was conducted in the UK by the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, where children, who went through 3 phases of this study, were given questionnaires about their eating habits and cognition. Results showed that children,especially girls, who reported themselves as having more self-esteem when they were younger, had less problems with dealing with eating disorders. Of course, the children in this study reported other factors in their habits and cognition, i.e. social media, socio-economic status, etc. Maybe with more research done based on early self-esteem, habits, and such that may cause eating disorders later in adolescence, there can be more intervention programs to help prevent these eating disorders.
Micali, N., De Stavola, B., Ploubidis, G., Simonoff, E., Treasure, J., & Field, A. E. (2015). Adolescent eating disorder behaviours and cognitions: Gender-specific effects of child, maternal and family risk factors. The British Journal Of Psychiatry, 207(4), 320-327. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.114.152371
While reading, I wondered if having childhood symptoms of OCD would factor into having a eating disorder in adulthood. I found an article that studied 44 women with anorexia, 28 bulimia, and 28 healthy females. All were asked if while during childhood they experienced behavior that leaned towards obsessive-compulsive personality. The results concluded that those who self-reported OCD during childhood had higher rates of having a eating disorder later in life (the odds increased by a factor of 6.9). Those who had traits of perfectionism and rigidity had a higher rate of comorbidity. It was interesting to find out that if one had traits of OCD it meant that they could be at risk for an eating disorder later in life. In some way, I guess it would make sense that everything in their view had to be perfect, including their body. I would be interested in seeing if the results would be similar if men were measured instead of women.
Anderluh, M. B., Tchanturia, K., Rabe-Hesketh, S., & Treasure, J. (2003). Childhood obsessive-compulsive personality traits in adult women with eating disorders: Defining a broader eating disorder Phenotype. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(2), 242–247. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.2.242
Christina, Yes, it makes sense that someone would be more likely to develop an eating disorder if they already have OCD tendencies. In fact, the comorbidities between OCD and eating disorders are more prevalent than any other disorder in relation to eating disorders. I don't necessarily think that it is because they think everything needs to be perfect, but they are more likely to have obsessive tendencies that could later be focused toward their body image. I really enjoyed your post, thank you for sharing!
Christina, This was very interesting! I would also like to see the study done with males. The only hard thing would be finding people to openly admit their eating disorder, especially men. I can see how OCD can act as a gateway towards eating disorders. I wonder if those that had been diagnosed with an eating disorder stuck to a very routine "diet."
After reading this chapter I was very interested to know if picking and nibbling at food was associated with eating disorders. I thought it could be because typically when someone has an eating disorder, they are body conscious, and picking or nibbling at food would allow them to be seen eating with it only being random small portions.
ReplyDeleteI found a study done by the University of Chicago that examined the relationship between picking and nibbling (P&N) and eating disorders (ED). To do the study they used 515 children ranging in age from 7-18 who presented o one outpatient ED research‐clinical program were assessed for ED and comorbid pathology. They found that 214 of the children participated in P&N. These individuals were older and had a higher percent expected body weight than those who denied P&N.P&N was not associated with ED diagnosis, ED pathology in youth with bulimia nervosa or subclinical bulimia nervosa, binge eating, compensatory behaviors, secret eating, or the presence of a mood or anxiety disorder. They concluded that P&N was prevalent but not significantly associated with ED pathology.
Kass, A. E., Accurso, E. C., Goldschmidt, A. B., Anam, S., Byrne, C. E., Kinasz, K., & ... Le Grange, D. (2015). Picking and nibbling in children and adolescents with eating disorders. International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 48(8), 1102-1105. doi:10.1002/eat.22444
Regan,
DeleteThis is an interesting post! This connection makes sense because if a person is anorexic, for example, it seems that they would engage in P&N to make their food last longer since they only let themselves eat a very little amount. From my observations through middle and high school, I have just assumed that P&N was a characteristic of people with disordered eating (specifically girls). It was nice to hear the research behind it! Overall, this was a great post!
Erin Cameron
Good Post!
DeleteI like question you chose to look into. It makes sense that a person with an eating disorder would also pick and eat especially in a social situation. Even though the research wasn't significantly linked with ED, its still interesting and could be a an indicator of ED.
Hi Regan, great post! I have also observed people who eat like this during meals and wondered if they were either not very hungry or body conscious. I also wonder about people who eat with a hand over their mouth even when they are not talking. I have seen this from a few people and when asked they say that they just feel uncomfortable eating in front of people.
DeleteAlthough there was no association between P&N and ED, I had a similar thought when I was going through the chapter. The prevalence does make sense due to P&N restricting eating which has similar features as someone with an ED. Great post!
DeleteRegan, this was an interesting post! I had never really thought about P&N when talking about ED. I'm not surprised that there is a prevalence of P&N with ED since many people with ED try to limit their food intake.
DeleteRegan,
DeleteI think your topic was a response to some stereotypes regarding EDs. I think most people assume a sign of ED would be picking and nibbling at food opposed to just eating or claiming to be done when full. The amount of those who did pick and nibble does not seem nearly as significant a number as I would have expected. This was interesting.
Regan,
DeleteThis was a very interesting post because I have babysat a lot of kids who were just not big eaters and they would pick and nibble on food instead of just eat it. I never considered is an eating disorder because I just assumes they were picky. Seeing there is no prevalence though makes me wonder if it is jus a result of an eating disorder or it is just because they are picky eaters. Good post!
This was a good question to bring up. I think that in this situation, P&N can also make it look like they are eating just to please others around them, while not actually eating a lot. Good post!
DeleteRegan,
DeleteI wasn't surprised by the results of your study, P&N being prevalent but not associated with ED pathology. That being said, when I originally think of P&N I'm reminded more of younger children. Specifically, children that pick and nibble food when they're "picky" about the food in front of them. I wonder if they're actually picky or if they're self-conscious at a young age?
After reading this chapter, I was very intrigued by eating disorders. It seems as though disordered eating is extremely common in women, especially throughout middle and high school, and nearly everyone has been impacted by it in some shape or form at one point in their lives (i.e. having the eating disorder, knowing someone who has one, such as a family member or friend). In my personal experience, I saw some sort of connection between eating disorders and girls who are high-achievers. This made me wonder: Are there certain characteristics that make girls more susceptible to eating disorders? Is there any research behind my previous observation?
ReplyDeleteIn a study performed this year, a sample of university women were used to examine how/if personality traits and affective variables (i.e. moods, attitudes) influence anorexia nervosa (AN). Results suggested that maladaptive perfectionism (i.e. unhealthy and severe self-criticism) and depressive symptoms were related to eating disorder preoccupations (i.e. excessive focus on body image/food intake). Dietary restraint was also associated with maladaptive perfectionism along with affective liability (sudden, fluctuating emotions). These findings demonstrate the importance of personality and affective traits when disordered eating in considered, which could potentially help the diagnosis and treatment process. I really enjoyed reading this study because it was very helpful, detailed, and informative, and it fully answered my question. Looking to further research, I would like to know if these findings did impact the assessment process in regards to eating disorders, such as AN.
Lavender, J. M., Mason, T. B., Utzinger, L. M., Wonderlich, S. A., Crosby, R. D., Engel, S. G., . . . Peterson, C. B. (2016, July 30). Examining affect and perfectionism in relation to eating disorder symptoms among women with anorexia nervosa. Psychiatry Research, 241, 267-272. Retrieved November 29, 2016, from PsycINFO.
Hi Erin,
DeleteI really liked your post! I find it interesting that depressive symptoms are still associated with eating disorders because of the fact that social media and some people have become more active in promoting differences within people. We now see that just because someone is overweight it is not necessary a bad thing since things seem to be more accepting nowadays. You mentioned that the women had these maladaptive perfectionism ideas which is one of the big reasons that I think we have eating disorders in general. I think that a huge way to fix this is (as the post below mentioned) to have compassion focused therapy and let EVERYONE know that their body is okay. There's a difference between being healthy and being perfect, and as long as you reach a certain healthy level in your weight that should be fine and the need to reach perfection is unnecessary. There definitely needs to be more focusing on getting those ideas to people that worry too much about their weight.
Overall good post!
Hi, Erin,
DeleteThis was a really good look at intrinsic risk factors that might affect ED prevalence. It's also a really good use of the diathesis-stress model--that it's not just environment that causes a problem (e.g., the normative discontent with appearance that affects American/Western women), but that there are things that can raise your likelihood of developing an ED. That's never a good thing, but hopefully identification can mean targeting during treatment. Further, hopefully we can do more research into protective factors related to personality traits as well.
Good post!
Hi Erin, great post! I have also wondered if certain characteristics make people more at risk for getting an ED. I have also wondered if it is more common in women or girls, does the mother's self esteem have an influence on her daughter's? If so, could an ED be cyclic in nature? I agree that perfectionism could be a characteristic of an ED. It makes sense that someone who wants every realm of their life to be "perfect" would want their body to be as well.
DeleteErin,
DeleteThis was a great post. I enjoyed reading about it and looking at the comparisons of our two studies and how views and personalities can effect the eating disorder. Personality differences can really effect how people bounce back from negative comments and expectations so putting the two together would be very interesting!
Erin,
DeleteGood job! It doesn't surprise me that perfectionism would be a characteristic, as one may look in the mirror and wish they looked like a model, etc. I always thought maybe depression played a role as well, but I was glad to see your article clarified it did. Good job!
Erin,
DeleteI really liked your post because it is very true that depression is linked to eating disorders. I had a friend when I was in high school who had an eating disorder because she was really depressed. I thought it was very interesting how perfectionism was related to eating disorders also. Very good post!
As I was beginning to read the chapter I wondered what treatments were offered to people with eating disorders. A concern for me was wondering how the media influenced how we look at body shapes and judge ourselves. As a teenage girl I had many times were I didn't like my body because media said I should be a skinnier so I wondered how do we reverse these negative thoughts we have about our own image that media is drilling in our brains.
ReplyDeleteI found an article that looked at Compassion-focused Therapy (CFT) and the reduction of shame. The study had 97 participants. The participants were mainly female and Caucasian. The average age was 28 with ages ranging from 17-57 years of age. There were multiple group therapies with similar goals of medical stabilization, weight restoration, eradication of binge eating. Self-compassion was implicitly encouraged in some groups but not all and no group was devoted to primarily building self-compassion or reducing shame. They had 3 measures, one for eating disorder symptoms, shame, and self-compassion. This study lasted 12 weeks. They found that participants who experienced larger decreases in shame within the first 4 weeks had faster decreases in eating disorder symptoms over 12 weeks of treatment. They also found that participants who had greater increases in their level of self-compassion had faster reduction in shame over 12 weeks. This research shows that feelings of shame could contribute to maintenance of eating disorders. This also suggests that developing self-compassion may help relieve feelings of shame.
This is an important study because we can see how shaming can possibly lead to maintenance of an eating disorder and how self-compassion lessens shaming. This is important to further treatments of eating disorders so we are able to help as best we can and hopefully long term, change media pressures and societal views.
Kelly, A. C., Carter, J. C., & Borairi, S. (2014). Are improvements in shame and self-compassion early in eating disorders treatment associated with better patient outcomes?. The International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 47(1), 54-64. doi:10.1002/eat.22196
I completely agree with you on how the media puts out an ideal body image that everyone should look like. Its really sad how judgemental everyone is and that is the world we live in. It's not surprising that eating disorders are becoming more common especially with teenagers. It makes alot of sense that the patients had less symptoms when they were able to feel less shame+develop self compassion. Compassion Therapy sounds like a great tool to help people with eating disorders and more studies using it should be done in the future.
DeleteGood Post!
Megan,
DeleteI love your post! I like how you searched for a more unconventional approach to treatment. I think CFT is significant because the changing of thoughts to more positive viewpoints is a more long-lasting treatment, which might work to prevent relapses in the future. I could also see how CFT could lessen maladaptive perfectionism, which is what I wrote my post over. You did a great job!
Erin Cameron
Hey, Megan,
DeleteI really like how you pulled in media perceptions of weight and shape here, and how strongly those have affected what we "should" look like. I'd be really interested, in the context of children, to see how early that kind of dissatisfaction related with media consumption starts. I've read statistics like 50% of ten-year-old girls are dissatisfied with their bodies, and I'd really be interested to see if it's common in children younger than that.
Great post! I feel like a lot of people struggle with body shaming and so I loved that they looked at that in the study you read. I also loved how it is self-compassion, I haven't heard that term before and I like it a lot. Compassion Therapy sounds like a great tool!
DeleteMegan,
DeleteI enjoyed reading your post! I think that as a society, we are becoming more and more aware of the negative effects the media can have on a person's self image, females especially. With that, we are also seeing different social media outlets who are encouraging girls and women to be more confident and comfortable in their own skin. In my opinion bringing awareness to this topic is a good thing. In most cases, worrying about our body image is unnecessary and even damaging when it leads to negative outcomes such as eating disorders. This study provides concrete evidence that when a person is more accepting (and less doubtful) of themselves, they reduce the risk of putting themselves in a harmful situations.
Hey Megan,
DeleteGood question, I feel as though a lot of instances, even beginning symptoms of EDs come from shame. With the way the media is, and how people are portrayed, it's very easy to fall feat to "why don't I look like that?" Good thing to think about and look into.
The media's infuence on body image has been a huge concern of mine for a long time. I'm an older sister and older cousin of girls and it's something that is present on my mind a lot. This research ties in a lot with a women's studies course I took and it's a very real problem. Thanks for sharing research with us about eliminating the shame associated with the disorder. Very insightful.
DeleteMegan-
DeleteGreat blog post and question! I feel like most women feel the need to be skinny or have distorted body image issues solely because of the media. The media can be cruel and make it seem like happiness and being skinny are correlated. We are our worst critics and learning how to love our body the way it was made can help with body image issues. Also, learning how eat right and exercise can help a lot. Overall great post!
When we were going over Eating disorders, I was interested in the Htr1b gene and the altered serotonin levels which are said to be correlated to people with eating disorders. I found a study that looked into people diagnosed by dsm5 standards with Anorexia, Bulimia Nervosa, and eating disorders that looked for genetic links. This is a pretty cool study since the etiology of eating disorders has never really been proven. In the study they found evidence that the htr1b gene may be implicated in the etiology of Bulimia Nervosa. They also found that a variant of the gene is associated with severe anxiety in Anorexia Nervosa. With more research and a larger sample, I think they could find a conclusive etiology for eating disorders. This would help develop medications and hopefully in the future be able to treat/ cure all eating disorders.
ReplyDeleteHernández, S., Camarena, B., González, L., Caballero, A., Flores, G., & Aguilar, A. (2016). A family-based association study of the HTR1B gene in eating disorders. Revista Brasileira De Psiquiatria, 38(3), 239-242. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2016-1936
Shawn,
DeleteThe etiology of eating disorders seem very interesting. While I agree there is some genetic aspect of this disorder, I believe it is the gene- environment interaction that makes this disorder distinct. I also would be interested in this genes association with addicts, as these disorders appear to have similar characteristics, and habits. I believe it would be very beneficial to find a conclusive etiology of eating disorders but I believe adapting the environment or even changing the environment would be more affective for treatment.
Shawn,
DeleteReally good job on your post! I really like reading the etiology of disorders, and was interested at seeing the exact gene you discussed. I agree there should be more research and also agree with Kyleigh- that it is probably a gene-enviornment interaction.
Shawn,
DeleteVery interesting post! By looking at your citation I can see that the research is fairly recent. I can't help but wonder if they are continuing this research. It would be absolutely tremendous if we could find a genetic factor to further help out these individuals.
Hi Megan,
ReplyDeleteGood job on your post! I thought it was interesting that results showed that a risk factor that maintained eating disorders was attributed to shaming. It made sense that if the participants had self-compassion they would be more likely to show a decrease in shame. I like how it all went back to the shaming and how this is how people with eating disorders learn to slowly accept themselves and progress towards eradicating the eating disorder. This shows how this can be translated to actual scenarios that involve bullying in schools and how these behaviors are maintained due to certain things being said that shouldn't.
Overall great post!
I am a Kinesiology major so one big issue we cover a lot is obesity in children. One of the big problems with obesity is that if a person has it as a child they are over 50% more likely to continue to be obese as an adult. This got me interested on binge eating in children and it's association between childhood obesity.
ReplyDeleteI found a study from 2006 that evaluated 55 children between the age of 5-13. They used a measurement instrument called a C-BEDS (Children Binge Eating Disorder Scale) to measure the binge eating in children. A SCID test was also used to gather information. The BEDS is normally used to test adults however this study showed that it can also be understood by children. The study showed that there is an association with children with BED and that are obese. Their hope with the findings from this study is that they can detect BED sooner and help the child get on a track to a healthier lifestyle.
Shapiro, J. R., Woolson, S. L., Hamer, R. M., Kalarchian, M. A., Marcus, M. D., & Bulik, C. M. (2006). Evaluating binge eating disorder in children: Development of the children's binge eating disorder scale (C-BEDS). International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40(1), 82-89. doi:10.1002/eat.20318
Leeann,
DeleteAs obesity is a very popular topic in America, I find this studying to be just as popular. It is crazy to think how much a parent can influence their child, and how much a environment/society can do the same. The binge eating disorders within children, could have a lot to do with their parents eating habits, or could deal with the lack of food in earlier years. While binge eating for some children is an uncontrollable indulgent, for others it is a uncontrollable appetite created from a worry about their next meal because they do not know when or if they will get another meal. I believe awareness of healthy portion eating is a great start to minimize obesity, as well as childhood hunger.
Leeann,
DeleteI think that the topic of childhood obesity is becoming more prevalent in our society today. I'm not sure if its because people are just becoming more aware of it or if its becoming more of an issue than before. Any sort of research that can help with the early detection, prevention of, and treatment for childhood obesity is a good thing. It is important to show children how to lead healthy lives. After reading your post, I would like to know more about binge eating in children. What causes it? Can they have some sort of predisposition that encourages them to binge eat, or is it a learned behavior?
Leeann,
DeleteThis sounds like an interesting article! I wonder what treatments there are for those who binge eat to prevent obesity since there is this association. I also liked Kyleigh's response about binge eating because they don't know where the next meal is coming from. When I first think of binge eating I think of the uncontrollable indulgent. Overall, great post!
Great post, Leeann! I'm not surprised that children who are obese are more likely to binge eat. I'm glad that they have found this relationship though, so more children can get help with BED sooner. Did the study say who often the children would binge eat? I wonder if children who are obese with BED would have more episodes than children who are not obese.
ReplyDeleteAfter studying eating disorders in the text, I wanted to know more about the causes of eating disorders in children. Specifically, do a child’s parents play a role in these causes?
ReplyDeleteOne study I found questioned whether a parent with an eating disorder created any sort of likelihood that their child would develop an eating disorder. This study used a large multigenerational sample, with the help of clinicians and referrals in identifying eating disorders in both the parents and children. There were a total of 158,697 children within the sample group, all ranging from ages 12-24. The participants first entered the study at the age of 12, and were followed up for a possible diagnosis of any type of eating disorder. The results showed that there were higher rates of a parent having a history of an eating disorder for the participants who were diagnosed with an eating disorder. This means that the evidence supported the hypothesis that a parental eating disorder is associated with a child developing an eating disorder. Moreover, the results also showed that there was a strong association between mothers having a history of eating disorders and female children having an eating disorder. As for the males involved in this study (fathers and sons) the number of diagnosed eating disorder cases were too low for this group to identify any significant evidence. So, the results from this study provided evidence for an association between eating disorders in parents and children, as well as evidence that females more commonly experience eating disorders when compared to males.
The findings of this research help to provide more information on the possible causes of eating disorders in children. The article mentioned that these findings were beneficial in both the detection and treatment of eating disorders. I wonder if there are any available programs for families so that both parents and children can work collectively to overcome and treat their disorders.
Bould, H., U. Sovio, I. Koupil, C. Dalman, N. Micali, G. Lewis, and C. Magnusson. "Do Eating Disorders in Parents Predict Eating Disorders in Children? Evidence from a Swedish Cohort." Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 132.1 (2015): 51-59. Web.
Lacy,
DeleteI think you posed a good question. Since EDs are most commonly associated with social and environmental factors, it would make sense for parents showing symptoms of ED to influence ED behavior in their children. The results of this study are what I expected, but the strong female relationship is interesting. I would like to know why that learned associated behavior is more prevalent between mothers and daughters.
I found your post really interesting. It makes sense that parents with symptoms of ED could influence their children as well. Since like Alex-Marie said ED is very commonly associated with environment and social factors. Like the media having a strong impact on women and how we are suppose to look. I've always heard that women are more commonly to develop ED as opposed to males, but I am really curious as to why the mothers and daughters show a much stronger association as opposed to the fathers and sons.
DeleteLacy-
DeleteInteresting question! As I was reading I was thinking the same thing. I wondered if a eating disorder was a learned behavior and if so where did it come from. It honestly didn't surprise me that there was a strong correlation with mothers having history of an eating disorder and their daughters having a higher rate of having one as well. I hope in the future there will be programs that can help those parents teach their kids nutrition and eating healthy. Overall great post! I liked reading it!
As I was reading the chapter I really began to wonder about eating disorders in college students. My question was if college increases the likelihood of eating disorders or even increases the severity of symptoms?
ReplyDeleteI found a study that focused on whether the transition into college changed eating disorder symptoms and related attitudes. 342 women were surveyed both in their HS senior year and a year later in their freshman year of college. The survey measured body and weight factors, self-perceptions, a eating disorder behaviors. Some results were that the average BMI increased slightly from HS to college, the body satisfaction levels decreased, but dieting decreased. The main finding, though, was that after comparisons of disordered eating classifications were done there was no difference from HS to college. The girl's behaviors were relatively stable. The study did mention that this did not mean the eating disorders went away or even decreased, they simply did not change with time.
At first I was quite surprised at these results because I thought for sure college and it's stressors/ pressure to find yourself would influence those with ED's to increase their tendencies. That being said, I think it makes a lot of sense that if the behaviors were already rooted before college they are likely to persist in a way that they already have.
Vohs, K. D., Heatherton, T. F., & Herrin, M. (2001). Disordered eating and the transition to college: A prospective study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29(3), 280-288. doi:10.1002/eat.1019
Ashley,
DeleteI found the results of your study to be very interesting as well. After thinking about it I realized that it would be interesting to assess girls through high school for eating disorders and increased symptoms. I know for majority of people high school can be a rough time in a person's life so I can only imagine what those results would look like.
Ashley,
DeleteThis is very interesting! I, like you, would have thought that college would have caused more stressors and effected their eating habits. I wonder what the results would have been if they were studied throughout college and through their first couple of years after college.
Reading the chapter, I noticed how little was said about sexuality and eating disorders. Not only was there so little said, it only spoke of gay boys/men and nothing about the other letters in LGBT. So I was curious about how it affects lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people as well.
ReplyDeleteIn a study done by A. Shearer, J. Russon, J. Herres, T. Atte, T. Kodish and G. Diamond, at Drexel University, they found that gay and bisexual men do have an increased risk for eating disorders, but lesbian and bisexual women showed mixed results. Across the board, individuals stating that they are strictly attracted to or physical with the opposite sex showed lower instances of disordered eating, while men and women both strictly attracted to or physical with the same sex showed higher instances. What surprised me most was that the highest individuals that showed disordered eating habits were bisexual women. It makes me wonder if this is because now they feel they have more people to please and present themselves to.
It was nice seeing that studies were done for these other individuals and not just gay males, even if it's all they talked about in the textbook
Shearer, A., Russon, J., Herres, J., Atte, T., Kodish, T., & Diamond, G. (2015). The relationship between disordered eating and sexuality amongst adolescents and young adults. Eating Behaviors, 19115-119. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.08.001
DeleteReally good question! Everyone matters and it is nice that someone took them into consideration for this study. It does make you wonder since bisexual women are the highest ones showing eating disorders if it is because they feel they need to impress everyone of both genders instead of just one or the other. I also wonder why it is that those attracted to the same sex show higher instances of an eating disorder compared to those attracted to the opposite sex.
DeleteHaley,
DeleteI liked the point you made about wondering if bisexual women have disordered eating behaviors because they are not only trying to please the opposite sex but the same sex as well. I would have thought lesbians as well as bisexual women have increased disordered eating because as we talked about in class- sometimes females can be quite judgmental of each other. Overall, great question!
While reading through this chapter I began to wonder if a person's life status (upper, middle, or lower class)can play a role in the development of their eating disorder?
ReplyDeleteI did find an article that talks about the relationship between SES and eating disorder behaviors in a community involving 17,571 girls in grades 7-12. The survey they did has been used several times with over 75,000 students. There were a variety of questions involving body image, weight satisfaction, dieting and eating patterns. Students identified themselves as American Indian (8.3%), Black (3.3%), White (83.4%), Hispanic (2.0%) and Asian (2.0%). They used a chi-square test and analysis of variance to control body mass index. Although the results showed significant positive relationship between SES and unhealthy dieting behaviors. There was not a relationship between "self-report of clinically significant eating-disorder behaviors and SES."
In this article SES does not appear to be a significant factor. It was kind of hard for me to find an article about the relationship between eating-disorder and SES. I feel like there isn't enough evidence yet to really determine if their social status does or doesn't have any effect and it is something to look further into!
Rogers, L., Resnick, M. D., Mitchell, J. E., & Blum, R. W. (1997). The relationship between socioeconomic status and eating-disordered behaviors in a community sample of adolescent girls. The International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 22(1), 15-23.
Heather,
DeletePerhaps, the reason the study couldn't find conclusive results was because their participant population was already 83.4% white. I bet if they surveyed a more diverse group of girls, they would be able to determine if there is a correlation between eating disorders and SES status. I know in class today, Dr. Van Allen stated that it is more prevalent in high SES families by a wide margin. I'm sorry it was hard to find an article concerning your question. That can be pretty frustrating, but great post, thank you for sharing!
While reading the chapter over eating disorders I noticed that there was not a lot of information on the start of menarche among those diagnosed. I had also heard that girls with Anorexia started later. The book mentions that there is still debate on whether this result is from the weight, lack of nutrients, or other causes related to Anorexia and not the diagnosis itself. I tried to find an article talking about it and I did, but they compare those with Anorexia with girls with Bulimia. I still found this information interesting. They stated that girls with Anorexia experienced menarche before those with Bulimia. The article also stated that girls with Anorexia had very little interest in dating and sexual experiences. I found this to be very interesting. I wonder if this is due to hormones in association with a disorder or if it is because of insecurities regarding body image. I would be interested in doing more research on this, I have always found eating disorders very interesting.
ReplyDeleteMangweth-Matzek, B., Rupp, C. I., Hausmann, A., Kemmler, G., & Biebl, W. (2007). Menarche, puberty, and first sexual activities in eating-disordered patients as compared with a psychiatric and a nonpsychiatric control group. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40(8), 705-710. doi:10.1002/eat.20431
As I read through the chapter, I became interested in seeing whether or not there was signs in early childhood related to someone who is diagnosed with an eating disorder in adolescence.
ReplyDeleteI found a study that was conducted in the UK by the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, where children, who went through 3 phases of this study, were given questionnaires about their eating habits and cognition.
Results showed that children,especially girls, who reported themselves as having more self-esteem when they were younger, had less problems with dealing with eating disorders. Of course, the children in this study reported other factors in their habits and cognition, i.e. social media, socio-economic status, etc. Maybe with more research done based on early self-esteem, habits, and such that may cause eating disorders later in adolescence, there can be more intervention programs to help prevent these eating disorders.
Micali, N., De Stavola, B., Ploubidis, G., Simonoff, E., Treasure, J., & Field, A. E. (2015). Adolescent eating disorder behaviours and cognitions: Gender-specific effects of child, maternal and family risk factors. The British Journal Of Psychiatry, 207(4), 320-327. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.114.152371
While reading, I wondered if having childhood symptoms of OCD would factor into having a eating disorder in adulthood.
ReplyDeleteI found an article that studied 44 women with anorexia, 28 bulimia, and 28 healthy females. All were asked if while during childhood they experienced behavior that leaned towards obsessive-compulsive personality. The results concluded that those who self-reported OCD during childhood had higher rates of having a eating disorder later in life (the odds increased by a factor of 6.9). Those who had traits of perfectionism and rigidity had a higher rate of comorbidity.
It was interesting to find out that if one had traits of OCD it meant that they could be at risk for an eating disorder later in life. In some way, I guess it would make sense that everything in their view had to be perfect, including their body. I would be interested in seeing if the results would be similar if men were measured instead of women.
Anderluh, M. B., Tchanturia, K., Rabe-Hesketh, S., & Treasure, J. (2003). Childhood obsessive-compulsive personality traits in adult women with eating disorders: Defining a broader eating disorder Phenotype. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(2), 242–247. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.2.242
Christina,
DeleteYes, it makes sense that someone would be more likely to develop an eating disorder if they already have OCD tendencies. In fact, the comorbidities between OCD and eating disorders are more prevalent than any other disorder in relation to eating disorders. I don't necessarily think that it is because they think everything needs to be perfect, but they are more likely to have obsessive tendencies that could later be focused toward their body image. I really enjoyed your post, thank you for sharing!
Christina,
DeleteThis was very interesting! I would also like to see the study done with males. The only hard thing would be finding people to openly admit their eating disorder, especially men. I can see how OCD can act as a gateway towards eating disorders. I wonder if those that had been diagnosed with an eating disorder stuck to a very routine "diet."
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete