Annotated Bibliography

Eating Disorders. Aug. 2009. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. <http://www.mirror-mirror.org/eatdis.htm>.

Mirror-mirror is a website sponsored by a support group called Eating Disorder Support for All (EDSA). It provides information and statistics on all eating disorders, recovery, getting help, myths and realities about eating disorders, links to other eating disorder sites, and a survivor wall where people that have beaten their eating disorder can share their story. The website has won many awards for their efforts to provide quality information and assist people in finding the help they need.

"Information about Health, Growth and Emotions for Teens : TeensHealth.org." TeensHealth. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. <http://teenshealth.org/teen/>.

Nemours is one of the largest nonprofit organizations devoted to children’s health. They support important clinical research that transforms scientific advances into practical ways to improve health care for kids and they support a number of renowned children's health facilities. Nemours is one of the nation’s leading health educators; it put together kidshealth.org and teenshealth.org to provide the most advanced information out today for the public to use. The site includes a plethora of information regarding almost anything that involves children’s or teenager’s health.  They also provide self-help plans, exercise logs, expert answers, weekly newsletters, and tips on certain topics and safety.

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. <http://www.anad.org>.

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention and alleviation of eating disorders since 1976.

ANAD strives to educate professionals in health care and the general public to be more aware of eating disorders and methods of treatment. They also encourage and provide research to investigate the causes of eating disorders, methods of prevention, treatment information, basic facts and formulate statistics related to eating disorders. They strive to be a resource center where information is gathered, including sources and facilities for treatment. ANAD’s main goal is to do any and all things necessary in order to fill the corporate purpose.

National Eating Disorder Information Centre. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. <http://www.nedic.ca>.

The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) is a nonprofit organization and program of the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada founded in 1985 to provide information and resources on eating disorders and food and weight preoccupation and have the most up to date information on what treatment is available. NEDIC also provides services like help lines, displays, runs prevention and awareness campaigns, assist communities in any way possible, and runs workshops and presentations. NEDIC has a non-dieting, client-centered, feminist philosophy. NEDIC’s vision is a culture that promotes and supports individuals engaged in healthy lifestyles regardless of attributed or natural characteristics, physical appearance and social status.

National Eating Disorders Association. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. <http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org>.

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders. NEDA was formed in 2001, when Eating Disorders Awareness & Prevention (EDAP) joined forces with the American Anorexia Bulimia Association (AABA); merging the largest and longest standing eating disorders prevention and advocacy organizations in the world. The merger was the most recent in a series of alliances that has also included the National Eating Disorder Organization (NEDO) and the Anorexia Nervosa & Related Disorders (ANRED).They campaign for prevention, improved access to quality treatment, and increased research funding to better understand and treat eating disorders. They work with partners and volunteers to develop programs and tools to help everyone who seeks assistance. Since 1999, they have had a national toll-free helpline that assist families, friends and individuals in finding appropriate treatment.

National Institute of Mental Health. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml>.

The mission of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, which leads the way for prevention, recovery, and cure. Their goal is to continue fulfilling their vital public health mission; they must have innovative thinking and ensure that educated scientific perspectives are used to further discover the evolving science of brain, behavior, and experience. If NIMH can achieve their goal then breakthroughs in science can become breakthroughs for all people with mental illnesses.

Eating Disorder and Diet Awareness

Advertisments produced by the National Eating Disorder Association to raise awareness:

 

The efforts to raise the awareness of eating disorders are increasing every year. Two main events that take place are Eating Disorder Awareness week and International No Diet Day.

Eating Disorder Awareness week (EDAW) takes place the first week of February. It is an international effort by the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. The goal of EDAW is to decrease the prevalence of eating disorders, dieting, and body image problems through public education programs that focus on the social factors that cause them to develop. The slogan for EDAW is “celebrating our natural sizes!” The week encourages individuals to steer away from one narrow ideal of beauty and focus more on living a healthy life style and celebrating natural diversity.

International No Diet Day (INDD) was founded by a lady in England who was inspired by her frustration towards the social standards that pressure people to be thin which often have devastating results. It is celebrated May 6^th of every year. The goals of INDD are to stop food/weight obsessions, increase public awareness of the dangers of dieting, affirm everyone’s right to fitness, health and emotional well being, celebrate beauty and diversity that comes in all shapes and sizes, increase public awareness on damage done to emotional, physical, and financial health by societies obsession with thinness, help change prejudice of fat people, and honors the victims of an eating disorders or weight loss interventions.

There is many ways to get involved in both of these annual events or to raise the awareness of these issues. Public Forums and speak outs, posting videos or articles on your personal sites, information booths in the community, or events at schools and colleges are all very effective ways to get the message out about the growing epidemic of eating disorders.  For more ideas on ways to get involved, this site is very helpful:

http://www.nedic.ca/knowthefacts/preventionhealth.shtml#edawindd

Eating Disorders in Adolescence

Recent news article published in Businessweek on eating disorders in adolescence
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/650600.html

Eating disorders in adolescence is becoming more of a problem in today’s world. It is estimated that 2.7% of people between the ages of 13 -18 suffer from an eating disorder; that’s about 2 in every 100 adolescents. The period of time between 13 and 18 includes a lot of emotional and physical changes, academic pressures, and a greater degree of peer pressure which all could trigger an eating disorder.

There are many reasons why the number of adolescence in eating disorders is growing. A lot of the issues that spark eating disorders originate from things that have happened in the person’s life and home setting starting as a young child. Children raised in a dysfunctional family are at higher risk for developing an eating disorder. Adolescents sometimes turn to food as a coping mechanism for dealing with their emotions and feeling comfort, especially if they live in a home where they are not allowed to express their feelings which in turn can make them become an emotional binge eater. Another reason for the development of an eating disorder in adolescents is to gain a sense of control. If there is physical or sexual abuse taking place they may turn to controlling their weight and food intake since they can’t control what is happening to their body during the abuse. Self starvation may also be their way of trying to disappear so they don’t have to go through the abuse anymore. Parents that are obsessed with their own weight and dieting give their child the message that looks and appearances are important. Parents should not criticize their children on their weight or try to control their food intake because it once again places an unnecessary importance on appearance.

Some of the main reasons why eating disorders develop in adolescents is from the pressures of the media, society, and peers to look good and be thin. Society has projected an unattainable “ideal” body image. There is constant talk of dieting and how people feel better than ever when they are thin; this is apparent on TV every single day and is portraying the message that being thin is important and necessary. Peer pressure can be very influential during the adolescence period. People at that age put an importance on fitting in and being liked so they think if their peers like being thin or like thin people then they need to be thin. Puberty can also play a role. During puberty the body goes through a lot of physical changes, one of the main ones being gaining additional body fat. This sudden change in their body’s appearance scares them and then triggers them to want to lose the weight as fast as they can to get back to their prior weight before puberty.

            Whatever the reason may be for a person in adolescence having an eating disorder, it can be fixed. There is treatment available and millions of resources to be used. Everyone needs to stop focusing on appearance and love themselves and others for the way they are and realize it’s our differences that make us unique and special.

Treatment for Eating Disorders

This video shows a glimpse of a woman going through the recovery process. She struggles a lot throughout but after 6 weeks of intense therapy you can see how much seeking treatment helped her

Eating disorders are serious health conditions that can be both physically and emotionally destructive and even lead to death. Constantly stressing over food and body image can affect a person’s life in many ways. Relationships, physical health, performance at school and work, as well as other enjoyable activities in life can be negatively altered by an eating disorder. People with eating disorders need to seek professional help if they want to overcome it. Early diagnosis and intervention may enhance the recovery process.

Treatment should be customized for the individual being treated; this can vary from person to person depending on the severity of the disorder and their own personal problems, need, and strengths. The most effective and long-lasting treatment for an eating disorder is some form of psychotherapy or counseling, along with careful attention to the persons nutritional and medical needs. Usually care is provided by a licensed health professional, typically being a psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, nutritionist, and/or primary care physician. The health professional should have expertise and experience in dealing with eating disorders and the individual being treated needs to be able to trust them. Treatment must address the eating disorder symptoms, as well as psychological, biological, interpersonal and cultural influences that contribute or maintain the eating disorder. Nutritional counseling is extremely vital to the recovery process. It should include education about nutritional needs and planning for and monitoring rational choices of the patient. Many people with eating disorders react well to outpatient therapy, including family or group therapy and medical care by their primary care provider. Support groups and psychiatric medications (taken under careful medical supervision) have also been proven to help some people through the recovery process. When an eating disorder has led to physical problems that may be life threatening or when the eating disorder has reached a sever level of psychological or behavioral problems inpatient care is absolutely necessary. Inpatient care includes hospitalization and/or residential care in an eating disorders specialty unit or facility. Inpatient stays typically require a period of outpatient follow-up and aftercare to address the underlying issues in the individual’s eating disorder.

            Treatment for anorexia nervosa and bulimia is often extremely expensive and can extend for several years. The cost of inpatient treatment can be $30,000 or more a month and the cost of outpatient treatment, including therapy and medical monitoring, can extend to $100,000 or more. Regardless of the expenses it takes to get treatment, it is worth it. An individual can overcome their eating disorder. They might not necessarily be completely cured because they might always have thoughts about food and weight but they will be able to manage those thoughts in a more productive and healthy way.

Signs & Symptoms of Eating Disorders

A young girl who suffers from bulimia - shows how bad the symptoms can be

Anorexia Nervosa-
10 Warning signs:

·         Deliberate self-starvation with weight loss

-          Refusal to maintain a normal weight, 15% below ideal body weight

·         Intense, persistent fear of gaining weight

-          Thoughts of food and weight consume a persons mind 24/7, constantly weight themselves

·          Refusal to eat or highly restrictive eating

-          Control eating, constantly count calories and fat grams

·         Continuous dieting

·          Excessive facial/body hair because of inadequate protein in the diet

·         Compulsive exercise

·          Abnormal weight loss

·          Sensitivity to cold

·          Absent or irregular menstruation

-Amenorrhea, missing 3 periods or more

·         Hair loss

Bulimia Nervosa-
7 Symptoms:

·         Preoccupation with food

- characterized by a feeling that one cannot stop or control one’s eating, accompanied by physical or emotional distress.

·         Binge eating, usually in secret

- consuming a larger amount of food than most people would eat during the same time period (potentially thousands of calories) within a short period of time (typically 2 hours or less)

·         Vomiting after bingeing

-Bingeing and Purging occurs more than 2 x a week for at least 3 months

·         Abuse of laxatives, diuretics, diet pills

·         Denial of hunger or drugs to induce vomiting

·         Compulsive exercise

·         Swollen salivary glands

·         Broken blood vessels in the eyes

Binge Eating Disorders-

 (Unlike bulimia, binge-eating episodes are not followed by purging, excessive exercise fasting)

10 Symptoms: 

• Eating even when you're full
• Eating large amounts of food
• Eating rapidly during binge episodes
• Feeling that your eating behavior is out of control
• Eating a lot even though you're not hungry
• Depression 
• Anxiety
• Frequent dieting, possibly without weight loss
• Frequently eating alone
• Feeling depressed, disgusted or upset about your eating

Damages eating disorders can have on your body:

Eating Disorders 101

Eating disorders are a growing epidemic in the United States. Around 24 million people suffer from an eating disorder of some type; that’s about 40% of our country. 95% of those people range from age 12-25. Eating disorders are typically thought to only affect women, but there are around 1 million men who have an eating disorder. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate out of all mental illnesses killing about 10% of those with the disorder.

Eating disorders refers to a group of serious conditions characterized by abnormal eating habits that involve either excessive or insufficient food intake that ultimately becomes an obsession with food and weight and leads to extreme detriment to a person’s physical and mental health. The main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.

Anorexia nervosa is when a person is obsessed with food and being thin, sometimes to the point of deadly self-starvation. They have an extreme fear of gaining weight and restrict themselves from eating more than just a tiny amount or eat nothing at all. The average calorie intake for someone with anorexia nervosa is 600-800. Bulimia is characterized by episodes of bingeing and purging. During these episodes, a person will typically eat a large amount of food in a short time period and then try to rid themselves of the extra calories by vomiting or excessive exercising. A person with bulimia can be a normal weight or even a bit overweight. Binge-eating disorder is when a person eats excessive amounts of food regularly (binge). A person may eat when they’re not hungry and continue eating even after they’re uncomfortably full. After a person binges, they may try to eat normal meals or diet, which triggers a new round of bingeing. People with binge-eating disorders can be a normal weight, overweight or obese.

The exact cause of eating disorders is still not understood. They can be caused by pressure from society, family and friends, personality and emotional disorders, and even biological and genetic factors. Some people are born with a predisposition to it, which can be brought to the surface by things that happen in and around a person’s life. The saying is "Genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger.”


Someone with severe aneroxia or bulimia veiws themselves as fat and disguisting but in reality they are extremely underweight and frail. Here is a picture that shows what someone suffering from these disorders sees when they look in the mirror.