Treatment Notes by Sari Fine Shepphird

Update on Pregnancy Related Weight-Gain Guidelines

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released yesterday an updated set of guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy. Given that Treatment Notes did a two-part look at pregnancy and eating disorders in 2008, (Click here for Part I and here for Part II) it seems fitting for us to post a link to the updated guidelines here...

Eating Disorders Are on the Rise

According to the Sunday Mirror,via ProQuest Information and PsychPort.com, SOARING numbers of young girls in Great Britain are being treated in hospital for eating disorders.

The report claims that cases of bulimia and anorexia among girls under 18 have leaped by 47 percent in the U.K. from 562 in 2004 to 825 last year.

Especially alarming is the data that shows there has also been a 25 per cent rise in girls UNDER AGE NINE being treated for eating disorders.

The new figures also show the number of women needing hospital treatment in the U.K. has risen by 25 per cent to 1,740 compared with 1,398 in 2004. The number of men being treated for eating disorders has also gone up, rising to 226 last year from 183 in 2004.

According to the article, U.K. health experts blame the increasing pressure on young people to stay thin for the rising number of anorexia and bulimia cases. In a recent poll of 3,000 teenagers 75 per cent said they felt they needed to lose weight after looking at pictures of skinny stars.

Susan Ringwood, chief executive of eating disorder charity Beat, said: "We are very concerned by these figures. We have heard of cases of people being told by doctors 'wait and see and come back later'. And these people get very, very ill before they get any help.

"Eating disorders are a serious psychiatric condition. It's worrying that young people who are suffering are not getting the appropriate treatment until they are dangerously ill."

Here's to Resiliency!

Psychotherapy has as at its roots a basic premise that one's personality, behaviors, and character traits are malleable, rather than fixed. Certainly, treatment of eating disorders champions the notion that behavior can be changed, that new habits and patterns can be formed.

Turns out, we are on the right track. Recent research indicates that positive change in character traits and personality can occur even into old age, and that the biggest "growth spurt" in this regard takes place not in childhood, but between thea ages of 18 and 40.

Studies show that people can make significant gains in assertiveness, emotional stability, and conscientiousness in middle age. There is an openness to new ideas and experiences that comes with aging as well. Apparently, according to research, we also become easier to get along with in middle age; this according to University of Illinois researcher Brent W. Roberts and Purdue University researcher Daniel Mroczek.

In addition, the researchers named above found, in a review of studies, that psychotherapy can help this process of change.

So here's to resiliency! Here's to the hope that comes with change.

Disordered Eating and AD/HD: Could there be a connection?

We know from clinical evidence and anecdotal data that one of the illnesses that may co-occur with eating disorders is Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD), with and without hyperactivity (AD/HD). A new resource by Carolyn Piver Dukarm, M.D.explores the possible connection between ADD and eating disorders, specifically those eating disorders that involve binge eating and share the common characteristics of distractibility and impulsivity. Her book, Pieces of a Puzzle: The link between eating disorders and ADD, takes a first hand look at the similarities between binge-associated eating disorders and attention deficit characteristics.

The book also has many useful exercises for eating disorders and ADD patients, discusses various treatment options, and contains a special section for healthcare professionals. 

Dr. Patricia Quinn, Director of the National Center for Girls and Women with AD/HD has kindly written a few words to help us explore the possible link between these conditions.

Does Less Body Fat Make Someone a Better Athlete?

This post originated at Encyclopedia Britannica Online, however, I thought it might be useful for Treatment Notes readers as well since I received a great many e-mails and responses about my last post about food and diet myths. This information is also derived from my new book 100 Questions and Answers about Anorexia Nervosa.

Celebrity Obsession

What do these people have in common?

Paula Abdul, Scarlett Pomers, Meredith Vieira, Ashlee Simpson, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Christina Ricci, Mary-Kate Olsen, Alanis Morissette, Katherine McPhee, Elton John, Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thorton, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Kate Beckinsale, Justine Bateman, Victoria Beckham, Calista Flockhart: