The Many Faces of Denial

By Lee Kern, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.

Bonnie sought help to stop a 25-pound relapse. She had by-pass surgery five years ago at the weight of 380. Four years after the surgery she hit a low of 160, and after two skin removal surgeries she was proud of her new look. But in the past year she began to graze on bread, cheese, popcorn and wine, attributing this to a spike in anxiety...

Finding a Therapist

By Lee Kern, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.

There are many approaches to psychotherapy and no one “right” way exists. The two most prominent forms in practice today are cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic. Evidence supports the benefits of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in the treatment of weight and eating problems. This approach views feelings, thoughts and behaviors as inter-related, and targets distorted or unproductive beliefs that underlie negative behavior.

Weighty Matters - Divorce and Weight

By Mitchell Milch, CSW

Our emotional vulnerabilities post-divorce may create an internal environment ripe for unhealthy dependencies on our own eating habits, as well as on how we feed others. Eating dysfunctions, even in their most benign forms, are perhaps the most insidious because, in a society where obesity is quickly becoming the norm, they can easily go undetected.

Geophagia, More Commonly Called Pica

By Grant Kono, LCSW

Pica is an eating disorder typically defined as the persistent eating of nonnutritive substances for a period of at least one month at an age in which this behavior is developmentally inappropriate. The definition is occasionally broadened to include the mouthing of nonnutritive substances.

Emotional Eating Can Sabotage Even Your Best Dieting Efforts

Typically triggered by stress and anxiety, "emotional eating" leads to overeating accompanied by clouded judgment, all of which results in making poor food choices. A key influence on emotional eating, however, is not just the presence of stressful or anxiety-riddled circumstances, but rather how we respond when life seems trying and difficult.

Men Also Suffer From Eating Disorders--Often With More Severe Consequences

Although eating disorders are commonly associated with adolescent girls and women, teen boys and men also suffer from from serious problems such as anorexia and bulimia--often with more severe consequences.

Size Zero

By Emily Battaglia

Despite much research and discussion, the root causes of eating disorders are still not fully understood. Several risk factors have been cited, including genetics, personality, and external stressors. One of the most significant influences, however, is the American society’s evolving ideal for the feminine form.

Staying Fit for Life: Behavioral Change for Lasting Weight Loss

An Interview with Samanthia Gaspar, PsyD.--By Meghan Vivo

In the past, many families turned to “fat camps” to help their teens lose weight. Although some campers experienced significant weight loss, most gained the weight back when they returned home. Research now supports a new generation of “fit camps” or weight loss camps, which have achieved remarkable long-term results.

Food Diary Lessons: The Lifestyle Connection

By Lee Kern, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.

In her recent food diary, Jan expressed pride and satisfaction with her progress. In nine months she had lost 50 pounds (from 230 to 180). Yet two diaries ago her comments were full of frustration and resignation...

Managing Emotional Eating

By Lee Kern, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.

Lisa is a classic emotional eater. She uses food to escape and soothe negative emotions, and responds to upsetting internal triggers in a repetitive, automatic self-defeating way. If you find yourself eating when you are not really hungry, Lisa’s story of relapse recovery may provide strategies to help you get back in control.

Some Facts About Anorexia in Young Women...

By Linda Laffey, MFT

While anorexia often begins as a battle of control between the desire to eat and the desire to lose weight, it eventually becomes a complex disease that is much more about control and self esteem than about food.

Eating Disorders Are Treatable--But First You Have To Ask For Help

Eating disorders--from mild to extreme--are complex psychological disorders in which your eating patterns are developed and then habitually maintained in an attempt to cope with other problems in your life. Eating disorders frequently co-occur with depression, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders--and can also put you at high risk of a wide range of physical health complications.

Could You Or Someone You Care About Have an Eating Disorder?

Each year, more than 5 million American women, men, adolescents, and even children suffer from such serious eating disorders as anorexia nervosa, binge-eating, bulimia nervosa and compulsive eating. Left untreated, the psychological, emotional, and physical consequences can be devastating.

Getting Help--the Sooner the Better

The sooner eating disorders are diagnosed and treated, the better the outcomes are likely to be. The longer abnormal eating behaviors persist, the more difficult it is to overcome the disorder and its effects on the body.

Researchers Looking Into How and Why Eating Disorders Occur

Eating disorders are not due to a failure of will or behavior; rather, they are real, treatable medical illnesses in which certain maladaptive patterns of eating take on a life of their own.

Treating Eating Disorders Using Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

By Meghan Vivo

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) combines cognitive and behavioral therapies to teach healthy ways to handle painful emotions through acceptance and change. DBT uses four skill sets – interpersonal effectiveness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and mindfulness – to improve coping skills.

Body Image

By Sally Frances, MA, LCSW

Preoccupations about body image issues can sometimes mask other problems. The body is often symbolic for other concerns in people's lives. In therapy, we look at both the underlying issues and the behaviors, in order to make progress and to experience change.

Kids and Distorted Body Images...Eating Disorders in the Making

By Michelle Gottlieb, Psy.D., MFT

Last weekend, I was enjoying a beautiful day at the park. I chanced to overhear a conversation between two girls sitting near me. These girls looked to be about 10 years old. They were complaining about their bodies...they felt that they were too fat.

Weight-loss Dieting Lowers Inflammation, Could Lower Disease Risk

A growing number of research studies point to chronic inflammation in the body as a risk factor for several diseases, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, and for death. A recent study looked at the effects of weight-loss dieting and physical activity on inflammation.

Physical Fitness Versus Body Mass Index

Physical inactivity and a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 can each lead to increased health risks such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. But when they are considered together, which presents the greater risk?

The Connection Between Obesity and Mood and Anxiety Disorders

The causal relationship between obesity and mood and anxiety disorders continues to be debated and studied. Both likely contribute to the other, but they may be linked through a common environmental or biological factor as well.

For Anorexics, Antidepressant No More Effective Than Placebo in Reducing Risk Of Relapse

A new study has concluded that the antidepressant medication Fluoxetine (Prozac) is no more effective than placebo in preventing relapse among patients with anorexia nervosa.

Obesity is Fast Becoming the Nation’s Number One Health Threat

During a recent presentation in which Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had been expected to address the growing threat of bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases like SARS, her comments instead focused more on the fast-rising threat of such traditional health concerns as obesity.

Anorexia Nervosa?

Anorexia nervosa is an extremely dangerous eating disorder in which a person intentionally deprives themselves of food and can literally starve to death in an attempt to be what they consider "thin." Learn how to recognize the symptoms of anorexia nervosa and ways to receive help.

The Rise of Male Eating Disorders: Preserving the Masculine Image at All Costs

An Interview with Brad Kennington, MA, LMFT, LPC, by Meghan Vivo

While experts used to believe that only 10 percent of the estimated 10 million eating disorder sufferers were male, a 2007 Harvard study of 3,000 male and female participants has shown that the disorders are much more prevalent – 25 percent of those with anorexia or bulimia and 40 percent of binge eaters were men.

Widespread Prevalence of Eating Disorders

Results from a large-scale national survey suggest that binge-eating disorder is actually more prevalent than both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The study also found that people with eating disorders, regardless of the type, often have coexisting mood, anxiety, impulse-control, or substance use disorders.

College Women at Risk for Eating Disorders May Benefit From Internet-based Intervention Program

A long-term, large-scale study has found that an Internet-based intervention program may prevent some high risk, college-age women from developing an eating disorder.

Midlife Eating Disorders

A surprisingly fast-growing number of individuals in their late 40’s and early 50’s are finding they’re relapsing after having overcome an eating disorder in their youth--and still other "mid-lifers" are experiencing problems related to compulsive food management for the very first time.

What Are the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders?

The medical consequences of eating disorders can be severe. Fortunately, increasing awareness of the dangers of eating disorders--insightful media coverage on the problem and extensive medical studies-- has led many people to seek necessary therapeutic intervention and to avoid medical disaster.

Alterations in Brain Activity Linked to Bulimia

Researchers have found that women with a history of bulimia show key differences in their brain's regulation of a hormone that controls mood and appetite, possibly suggesting an inherent susceptibility to the eating disorder.

Bulimia: A Dangerous Cycle of Self-Deception and Shame

An estimated 1.1 percent to 4.2 percent of females have bulimia in their lifetime. Bulimia is a psychological disorder and is usually a response to depression, stress, and/or deep rooted self- esteem issues.

Eating Patterns and Weight

By Marlene Lesson, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., C.D.E.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for weight control. Recent studies are beginning to identify eating patterns that are associated with healthy body weights. But none of these findings are of much value unless they are personalized for you. So get ready to look inward and reflect. You too can be successful if you take the time to get to know yourself.

Dental Hygienists Are Skilled in Detecting Eating Disorders

It is important for dental hygienists to recognize the signs of the eating disorders, bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa, according to the American Dental Hygienists Association.

Signs and Symptoms Of Dental Problems Resulting From Eating Disorders

Some of the common signs and symptoms of dental problems associated with eating disorders as noted by The Massachusetts Dental Society.