Today’s idea of eating for mental wellness represents a much different facet of health than we grew up with. In school, it was common for people to receive lessons about food groups and the importance of eating a balanced diet. However, for many, those lessons never materialized into actual practice. From a young age, we…
Several mood-related factors contribute to altered decision-making processes in women who suffer from eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia. Bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are two of the three most common eating disorders in the U.S. and throughout the world. Teenage girls and young women have the highest chances of developing these conditions. At…
Thinspiration is a term used to describe images and writings that promote extreme slenderness as a body ideal. These materials frequently appear on pro-ana websites that treat thinspiration as a cultural norm. Research indicates that the vast majority of these websites promote eating disorders by providing detailed information on how to begin, maintain and hide…
Despite no official recognition as a mental health disorder, anorexia athletica is nonetheless a dangerous phenomenon that seems to be spurred in part by social media.
Recent findings from a team of Norwegian and British researchers indicate that girls and women with anorexia may compulsively check their bodies because they have unusual difficulty switching between mental tasks, although the evidence is far from conclusive.
An experimental procedure known as deep brain stimulation (DBS) has shown promise as a treatment for severe anorexia nervosa. DBS is currently an approved treatment procedure for essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but it is being studied as a treatment for anorexia, chronic pain and certain affective disorders.
The brains of women who have recovered from anorexia nervosa react differently to hunger signals than the brains of women who have never suffered from an eating disorder, according to new research from the University of California, San Diego.
The presence of anxiety in a woman affected by anorexia nervosa can substantially heighten the chances that she will develop significant depression symptoms, according to recent findings from a group of British and Dutch researchers.
Activity trackers that monitor daily input and output of calories are helping many people jumpstart an exercise routine and become more active. In a society that has become increasingly inactive and overweight, activity trackers are generally considered to be a positive influence. However, activity trackers can be a risk for people living with eating disorders…
Thinspiration and pro-ana are terms describing a disturbing trend online and especially on social media that involves supporting people in developing eating disorders. Type either term into a search engine and you will find any number of sites, social media groups, chat rooms and forums dedicated to members supporting each other in the quest to…