Eating Disorder Pro » Incidence of eating disorders

News You Can Use – Dec 26 – Jan 1

Dr. J Renae Norton — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:34:24 +0000

Your weekly health news update!

Coconut Oil Protects Our Brain from the Effects of MSG

Five new government restrictions on food, medicine, and health freedom that are set to take effect on January 1, 2012

Global food giants are moving away from BPA in packaging

Add some vitality to your hot chocolate this winter

Trap of addiction invisible to users

Protecting babies from neurotoxins

Gluten-free diet linked to increased depression and eating disorders

Diet ‘can stop brain shrinking’

Obesity Linked to Changes In The Brain

The Most Delicious Appetite Suppressant on Earth

How Much of Your Food Labeled as Organic Is Actually Organic?
Fighting Anorexia – Eating IS medicine

Self-imposed standards are central to perfectionism in eating disorders
10 Things You Shouldn’t Say To An Eating Disorder Sufferer

Were there any news articles that you saw this week that really grabbed your attention? Leave a comment with a link. If the article helped you, it will likely help some of my other readers!

Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.© 2012, Dr J Renae Norton. This information is intellectual property of Dr J Renae Norton. Reproduction and distribution for educational purposes is permissible.

The Positive Effects of Residential Treatment For Eating Disorders Are Minimal!

Dr. J Renae Norton — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:22:24 +0000

In analyzing the current results from my survey regarding the effects residential treatment has had on individuals taking the survey, only 16% acknowledged that residential treatment had a positive impact on their disorder. Over half of the respondents said that minimal changes resulted from residential treatment, and that, “my relationship with food did not improve during or after treatment and I still have the same symptoms.” Finally, a whopping 70% (combining the last four categories) stated that their eating disorder either worsened or that they developed another eating disorder after receiving residential treatment! If you have not yet taken the survey please do!

*These results are based upon 260 responses.

Swimming Into a Cultural Health Crisis

Dr. J Renae Norton — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:54:35 +0000

Many people would say that we are becoming less and less healthy as a nation because we overindulge. On the surface, this appears to be a safe assumption. At present we have the distinction of being one of the top ten countries in the world for overweight adults! Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the population at large with a whopping 60% of all adults being overweight and one out of four being morbidly obese. Break out the numbers specifically for the aging Baby Boomers and the stats are even more distressing- practically three out of four mature U.S. adults are classified as overweight or obese. But the worst part is that obesity is increasing at such an alarming rate among U.S. children at present, that they will be the first generation in decades that are projected to have a shorter lifespan than their parents! So the future looks even worse than the present. Eating disorders are also proliferating, affecting new segments of the population that include younger and younger children, as well as older women and men.

The complications of obesity alone have wreaked havoc with our health care system as well as our national economy. For example, “Health care costs related to obesity- which is associated with conditions like hypertension and diabetes- would total $344 billion in 2018, or more than one of every five dollars spent on health care, if the trends continue. If the obesity rate were held to its current level, the country would save nearly $200 billion a year (or $1.4 Trillion) by 2018, according to the study.” (Sack 2008) In terms of Eating Disorder’s, Anorexia alone, kills more women between the ages of 15 and 24 than any other cause of death.

The question is why is this happening? The answer is that if you are a fish, you do not see the water. Because you are immersed in it, you take it for granted. In much the same way, we are immersed in a culture that we assume to be safe. This is our underlying assumption. The fish may remain in polluted water until it becomes so polluted that it is no longer life sustaining. By then, it is too late. Like the fish, we are oblivious to the forces surrounding us. To change our culture, we must first be able to identify the underlying assumptions that are driving the current epidemic of obesity and eating disorders in the U.S. We must each then act to change our lifestyle and advocate for our safety. Stay tuned for Dr. Norton’s soon to be released book that details the problems, their causes and the solutions.

Incidence and Risk Factors of Eating Disorders

Dr. J Renae Norton — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:39:18 +0000

The US Dept of Health and Human Services task force reports:

10 million females and 1 million males have life threatening eating disorders
87 percent are children and adolescents under the age of twenty
By age 13, 10% of girls had reported the use of self-induced vomiting

Risk Factors for Different Groups

Teens: Early puberty is a primary risk factor for the onset of eating disorders among teens.
Males: The number of males with eating disorders has doubled in the past 10 years, certain sports, homosexuality
Women: Increasing numbers of women aged 20 – 50 seeking help for eating disorders they have harbored secretly for twenty or thirty years.

Health Consequences of Eating Disorders:

Eating disorders are the most lethal of all mental health disorders, killing or maiming between 6 and 13 percent of victims who die of:

Infectious diseases
Stroke
Heart attack/failure
Seizures
Liver or kidney failure
Diabetic Coma

Sources:

US Dept of Health and Human Services – (http://www.hhs.gov)