Eating disorder or disordered eating? Non-normative eating patterns in obese individuals

Binge eating disorder (BED) and night eating syndrome (NES) are putative eating disorders frequently seen in obese individuals. Data suggest that BED fulfills criteria for a mental disorder. Criteria for NES are evolving but at present do not require distress or functional impairment. It remains unclear whether BED and NES, as they are currently defined, are optimally useful for characterizing distinct patient subgroups. We propose that a distinction be made between "eating disorders" and "non-normative" eating patterns without associated distress or impairment. Although non-normative eating patterns may not be considered mental disorders, they may be very important in terms of their impact on body weight and health. More precise behavioral and metabolic characterization of subgroups with eating disorders and non-normative eating behaviors has important implications for understanding the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of obesity. Ultimately, better understanding of the many pathways to increased energy intake may lead to targeted strategies for prevention of overweight and obesity in at-risk individuals and populations.     

Who are eating and not eating fruits and vegetables in Malaysia?

Objective

To investigate the roles of sociodemographic factors in fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in Malaysia.

Methods

Data are obtained from the Malaysia Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance-1. Logistic regressions are conducted using a multiracial (Malay, Chinese, Indian and other ethnic groups) sample of 2,447 observations to examine the factors affecting individual decisions to consume FV on a daily basis.

Results

Based on the binary outcomes of whether individuals consumed FV daily, results indicate that work hours, education, age ethnicity, income, gender, smoking status, and location of residence are significantly correlated with daily fruit consumption. Daily vegetable consumption is significantly correlated with income, gender, health condition, and location of residence.

Conclusions

Our results imply the need for programs to educate and motivate consumers to make healthier dietary choices. Interventions to increase FV consumption by changing behaviors should be considered, as should those that increase public awareness of the dietary benefits of FV. These intervention programs should be targeted at and tailored toward individuals who are less educated, younger, less affluent, males, smokers, and metropolitan dwellers.     

The emotional eating scale. Can a self-report measure predict observed emotional eating?

We assessed the validity of the emotional eating scale (EES) by examining whether the EES predicted food intake following two negative mood inductions. Participants underwent mood inductions for anxiety, anger and neutral mood, then received snack foods in a sham palatability test. EES anxiety, but not anger, predicted intake. Participants high on EES anxiety consumed more snacks during the anxiety mood induction, whereas participants low on EES anxiety consumed less snacks. Results suggest that EES anxiety is a predictor of anxiety-driven eating and may be used to assess emotional eating when direct observation of intake is not possible.     

How willing are general practitioners to manage narcotic misuse?

In 1989 a self-administered questionnaire concerning current management of, attitudes to, and knowledge of, narcotic misuse was completed by 206 Inner London general practitioners. Results showed that whilst over three quarters were prepared to offer patients supportive interviews, few were willing to prescribe for them, most preferring to refer to specialist facilities. Only 33 respondents had received adequate training in the management of narcotic misuse, but over a quarter expressed an interest in small group training to improve their skills. These findings are discussed in relation to Department of Health guidelines concerning the management of narcotic misuse.     

Does disgust enhance eating disorder symptoms?

In the present study, the hypothesized causal relationship between disgust and eating pathology was investigated. Female undergraduates were either assigned to an experimental condition in which feelings of disgust were induced by means of a bad smelling odorant, or to a control condition in which no such disgust manipulation was carried out. Both groups completed questionnaires for measuring various eating disorder-related concepts (i.e., body esteem, restraint eating, and body change strategies). In addition, explicit and implicit preferences for high-caloric food were measured. Results demonstrated that women in the experimental condition did not report lower levels of body esteem, and neither showed higher levels of restraint eating or other body change strategies. Furthermore, they did not display a decreased explicit or implicit preference for high-caloric food. Thus, in the present study no indication for a causal relation between disgust and eating disorder symptoms in young females was found.     

Is binge eating experienced as an addiction?

To ascertain to what degree binge eating is experienced as an addiction, this study examined the proportion of women with binge-eating disorder (BED) whose symptoms met criteria for an addiction. Women (N = 79) with current BED completed a structured telephone interview to assess for symptoms of a modified version of DSM-IV substance dependence and Goodman's [(1990). Addiction: Definition and implications. British Journal of Addiction, 85, 1403-1408] proposed diagnosis of 'addictive disorder'. Most binge eaters (92.4%) met modified DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence, whereas many fewer (40.5%) met Goodman's more restrictive criteria for addictive disorder. Women meeting criteria for addictive disorder had more frequent eating binges than those who did not. Despite certain observed similarities between binge eating and addictions, we argue that BED should remain classified as an eating disorder.     

Development of the Adult eating behavior evaluation questionnaire

Objective:To develop an adult eating behavior evalua- tion questionnaire,to evaluate the eating behavior of Chi- nese adult. Methods:Using stratified cluster sampling to get 1078 eligible subjects of different developing levels from the com- munities in Wuhan City and Yichang Country. Result:The reliability of the questionnaires is accept- able(Cronbachá=0.70,Split-half coefficient=0.69).11 major factors were extracted and matched basically the ques- tionnaire designed construct.The sum scores of the ques- tionnaire can distinguish the eating behavior of different age groups,gender groups,different family monthly in- come groups as well as different education level groups. The sum scores of the questionnaire and the most of sum scores of subscales are correlated with the daily nutriment intake. Conclusion::The reliability and validity of adult eating behavior evaluation questionnaire is acceptable.It is still needed to do more research about the theory model of eat- ing behavior to get more high quality eating behavior mea- surement tools.     

Is migraine related to the eating disorders?

Migraine and the eating disorders, particularly bulimia nervosa, share some common demographics, phenomenology, psychopathology, and treatments. Bulimics also appear to be more sensitive to the induction of severe migrainous headaches than controls following challenge with the 5-HT agonist, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP), but not placebo or L-tryptophan. This supports a common pathophysiological relationship involving postsynaptic 5-HT dysfunction between these disorders. In order to further explore the possible relationship between eating disorders and migraine, we administered a modified version of the Diagnostic Survey of the Eating Disorders (D5ED) and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) to a group of female migraine patients attending the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Neurology Clinic (n = 34). Of the 34 migraine patients surveyed, 88% reported dieting behavior, 59% reported binge eating, and 26% reported self-induced vomiting during their lifetimes. Compared to the responses of a group of normal female controls (n = 577), patients with migraine had elevated scores on four of the eight subscales of the EDI: Body Dissatisfaction (p ≤ .02), Perfectionism (p ≤ .01), Interpersonal Distrust (p ≤ .02), and Ineffectiveness (p ≤ .06). These findings support the hypothesis that common pathophysiological mechanisms, perhaps involving 5-HT dysregulation, may be involved in these two disorders. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Disordered eating: A defense against psychosis?

The authors present four cases suffering with either bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa in conjunction with a psychotic illness. In all cases there appeared to be a reciprocal relationship between the eating disorder and psychosis such that improvement in eating precipitated or exacerbated the psychotic symptoms. We suggest that disordered eating serves as a defense against psychosis. Difficulties in treating such patients are discussed. © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 24: 329–333, 1998.     

mindful eating风靡全球其实就是好好吃饭

<正>最近,"mindful eating"可谓炙手可热,风靡全球。"mindful eating"也叫"静心饮食",提倡者希望通过冥想的方式控制情绪和身体感知,使得在进食时能够更加专注,通过调控饮食习惯,让身体逐渐健康,有利于减肥、减少暴食。静心饮食法其实就是好好吃饭静心饮食法可以概括为8条64个字:(1)意念专注,缓慢进食;(2)规律进食,吃饱即止;(3)学会区分,饿与不饿;(4)注意食物的色、香、味;(5)轻松进食,避免焦虑;(6)食之     

Are child eating patterns being transformed globally?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which child dietary patterns and trends are changing globally. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Diets of children 2 to 19 years of age were studied with nationally representative data from Russia and the United States, nationwide data from China, and regional data from metropolitan Cebu, Philippines. Twenty-four-hour dietary recalls were examined at several points in time to examine trends in calories consumed away from home, snacking behavior, and soft drink and modern fast food consumption. Urban-rural trends were compared. RESULTS: U.S. and Cebu youth consume more than one-third of their daily calories and a higher proportion of snack calories from foods prepared away from home. In contrast, away from home food consumption is minimal in Chinese and Russian children. U.S. and Cebu youth consume about one-fifth of their total daily energy from snacks, but snacks provide a much lower proportion of energy in Russia ( approximately 16%) and China (where snacks provide only approximately 1% of energy). Fast food plays a much more dominant role in the American diet ( approximately 20% of energy vs. 2% to 7% in the other countries), but as yet does not contribute substantially to children's diets in the other countries. Urban-rural differences were found to be important, but narrowing over time, for China and Cebu, whereas they are widening for Russia. DISCUSSION: This research suggests that globalization of the fast food and other modern food sectors is beginning to affect child eating patterns in several countries undergoing nutrition transition. However, the contribution of fast food and soft drinks to the diet of children remains relatively small in China, Russia, and Cebu, Philippines, relative to the United States.     

How does the business cycle affect eating habits?

As economic expansions raise employment and wages, associated shifts in income and time constraints would be expected to also impact individuals' health. This study utilizes information from the US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (1990-2009) to explore the relationship between the state unemployment rate and the consumption of various healthy and unhealthy foods in the United States. Estimates, based on fixed effects methodologies, indicate that unemployment is associated with reduced consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased consumption of "unhealthy" foods such as snacks and fast food. Heterogeneous responses are also identified through detailed sample stratifications and by isolating the effect for those predicted to be at highest risk of unemployment based on their socioeconomic characteristics. Among individuals predicted to be at highest risk of being unemployed, a one percentage point increase in the resident state's unemployment rate is associated with a 3-6% reduction in the consumption of fruits and vegetables. The impact is somewhat higher among younger, low-educated, and married adults. Supplementary analyses also explore specific mediating pathways, and point to reduced family income and adverse mental health as significant channels underlying the procyclical nature of healthy food consumption.     

Distress and eating: why do dieters overeat?

OBJECTIVE: It has been shown that distress suppresses eating in nondieters (unrestrained eaters), but increases it in chronic dieters (restrained eaters). This study attempted to investigate several possible explanations for this phenomenon, in particular, the "masking hypothesis." This hypothesis states that dieters use overeating to mask their distress in other areas of their lives by eating when distressed so that they can attribute their distress to their overeating rather than to more uncontrollable aspects of themselves or their lives. In addition, comfort, learned helplessness, and distraction explanations were investigated. METHOD: Female college student subjects were led to believe that they had or had not failed at a cognitive task, then were either given ad libitum or just three small spoonfuls of ice cream to taste and rate. RESULTS: It was predicted that restrained subjects who ate ad libitum following failure would attribute more of their distress to their eating than would those who were allowed only a taste of ice cream. The results were more complicated than predicted. They indicated that the masking, distraction, and helplessness hypotheses all received some support in the present study and that they may work in tandem with each other. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that distress-induced overeating in restrained eaters may serve psychological functions for the individual, allowing for distraction from the distress or masking of the source of dysphoria. The possible relevance of these results to bulimic patients who may use their binges to mask the true source of their distress is discussed.     

Are there hidden eating disorders among psychiatric inpatients?

The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and Bulimia Investigatory Test Edinburgh (BITE) were administered to 65 inpatients on acute admission wards of a psychiatric hospital. Those who scored above cut-off points for each questionnaire were interviewed. No cases of hidden eating disorders were found. The 1-year prevalence for DSM-III bulimia was 6%.