Seven Ways to Approach a Friend with Anorexia

Differences Seen In Brain Circuitry Between Women With Anorexia And Those With Obesity Why does one person become anorexic and another obese? A study recently published by a University of Colorado School of Medicine researcher shows that reward circuits in the brain are sensitized in anorexic women and desensitized in obese women. The findings also suggest that eating behavior is related to brain dopamine pathways involved in addictions...

Study Identifies Five Factors That Promote A Positive Body Image In Women Women with high family support and limited pressure to achieve the 'thin and beautiful' ideal have a more positive body image. That's according to a new study looking at five factors that may help young women to be more positive about their bodies, in the context of a society where discontent with appearance is common among women. The work by Dr...

Possible Link Discovered Between The Hormone Ghrelin And Hedonic Eating When eating is motivated by pleasure, rather than hunger, endogenous rewarding chemical signals are activated which can lead to overeating, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The phenomenon ultimately affects body mass and may be a factor in the continuing rise of obesity...

Research May Lead To Treatments For The Complications Of Obesity And Malnutrition Medical researchers at the University of Sheffield have defined the structure of a key part of the human obesity receptor - an essential factor in the regulation of body fat - which could help provide new treatments for the complications of obesity and anorexia...

Addiction-Like Behaviors Can Stem From Binge Eating A history of binge eating - consuming large amounts of food in a short period of time - may make an individual more likely to show other addiction-like behaviors, including substance abuse, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. In the short term, this finding may shed light on the factors that promote substance abuse, addiction, and relapse...

Key Events Can Trigger Eating Disorders Eating disorders can be triggered by lack of support following traumatic events such as bereavement, relationship problems, abuse and sexual assault, according to research published in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing. Even changing school or moving home can prove too much for some young people and lead to conditions such as anorexia or bulimia...

Mouse Model Offers Opportunity To Study Antipsychotic Drug In Treatment Of Anorexia Low doses of a commonly used atypical antipsychotic drug improved survival in a mouse model of anorexia nervosa, University of Chicago researchers report this month. The result offers promise for a common and occasionally fatal eating disorder that currently lacks approved drugs for treatment...

For Weight Loss, Misperception Of Weight Is An Important Barrier When University of Illinois researchers surveyed over 3,500 college applicants, more than a third couldn't report their weight accurately, and overweight and obese men were more likely to underestimate their weight than women...

Our Brains On Food: From Anorexia To Obesity And Everything In Between The brains of people with anorexia and obesity are wired differently, according to new research. Neuroscientists for the first time have found that how our brains respond to food differs across a spectrum of eating behaviors - from extreme overeating to food deprivation. This study is one of several new approaches to help better understand and ultimately treat eating disorders and obesity...

Sudden Onset OCD In Children - Possible Causes Broadened Criteria for a broadened syndrome of acute onset obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) have been proposed by a National Institutes of Health scientist and her colleagues...

Super-Thin Models Banned From Catwalks And Ads, Israel The Israeli parliament has passed a new law which prohibits clinically underweight models from appearing in advertisements and catwalks. Lawmakers believe the presence of super-skinny models in the media and fashion parades encourages eating disorders and promotes unrealistic and unhealthy body image goals...

How A Single Gene Mutation Leads To Uncontrolled Obesity Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have revealed how a mutation in a single gene is responsible for the inability of neurons to effectively pass along appetite suppressing signals from the body to the right place in the brain. What results is obesity caused by a voracious appetite...

Loss Of Appetite Deciphered In Brain Cell Circuit: Therapeutic Targets Also Discovered For Potential Treatments For Eating Disorders The meal is pushed way, untouched. Loss of appetite can be a fleeting queasiness or continue to the point of emaciation. While it's felt in the gut, more is going on inside the head. New findings are emerging about brain and body messaging pathways that lead to loss of appetite, and the systems in place to avoid starvation...

The Majority Of Women With Bulimia Reach Highest-Ever Weight After Developing The Disorder Researchers at Drexel University have found that a majority of women with bulimia nervosa reach their highest-ever body weight after developing their eating disorder, despite the fact that the development of the illness is characterized by significant weight loss...

Eating Problems Persist 3 Months After Stroke And 56 Percent Still Face Malnutrition Risk People who suffered a stroke continued to experience eating problems and more than half still risked malnutrition after three months, even though there had been a marked improvement in most of their physical functions. That is one of the key findings of a study in the March issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing...

Eating Disorders Cause Severe Dental Erosion It is estimated that about 1.1 million men and women in the UK suffer from eating disorders, with the dark figure thought to be even higher, considering that many more keep their problem a secret. A study by the University of Bergen in Norway, showed that patients who suffer from eating disorders, such as Anorexia and Bulimia, experienced substantially more dental health problems...

Prader-Willi Syndrome - Challenge To Stop Over-Eating In Children A Challenge to find new research methods for hyperphagia, or unregulated appetite, a condition prevalent in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) - a genetic disorder of chromosome 15, has been announced by InnoCentive. Inc., and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research. Around 6,500 children are born with the genetic disorder each year...

Colorful Plates Boost A Picky Eater's Appetite Parents of picky eaters can encourage their children to eat more nutritionally diverse diets by introducing more color to their meals, according to a new Cornell University study. The study finds that colorful food fare is more appealing to children than adults...

Experts Urge BMI Method For Calculating Weight In Kids With Eating Disorders An exact determination of expected body weight for adolescents based on age, height and gender is critical for diagnosis and management of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. However, there are no clear guidelines regarding the appropriate method for calculating this weight in children with such disorders. In a study published online Jan...

Binge Eating And Depression Often Linked In Teenage Girls After carrying out a US-wide study, researchers report that depressed adolescent girls are two times more likely to begin binge eating as girls who are not depressed. In addition, girls who regularly binge-eat are twice as likely to develop symptoms of depression. The findings indicate that adolescent girls who show signs of either binge-eating or depression should be screened for both disorders...

Orangutans That Have Survived Extreme Food Scarcity May Provide Better Understand Of Obesity And Eating Disorders In Humans Rutgers Evolutionary Anthropologist Erin Vogel thinks new research published in Biology Letters, a Journal of the Royal Society, examining how endangered Indonesian orangutans - considered a close relative to humans - survive during times of extreme food scarcity might help scientists better understand eating disorders and obesity in humans...

Anorexia Recommendations Challenged According to researchers at UCSF, adolescents who are hospitalized with anorexia nervosa do not gain considerable weight during their initial week in hospital by receiving treatment based on current guidelines for refeeding. The study is published in the January issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health with an associated report...

New Approach To Management Of Overeating In Children Overeating, whether in children or adults, often takes place even in the absence of hunger, resulting in weight gain and obesity. Current methods to treat such overeating in youth focus on therapies that restrict what kids may eat, requiring them to track their food intake and engage in intensive exercise...

Overweight Women Trained In Stress Reduction And Mindful Eating To Curb Weight Gain Many dread gaining weight during the holiday season, but there may be hope for those who find that stress causes them to reach for yet another helping of holiday goodies. In a study by UCSF researchers published online in the Journal of Obesity, mastering simple mindful eating and stress-reduction techniques helped prevent weight gain even without dieting...