Author: frivvy89
The following article contains subject matter related to eating disorders that may be sensitive for some readers.I developed bulimia nervosa when I was 15. I had never been fat, but I also wasn’t skinny. I was always just a bit bigger than my friends – enough that it was obvious and made me feel insecure when I was around them.I never felt insecure enough about my body to do anything about it, until some comments were made about my weight. I was walking out of the school gates one day when a couple of boys behind me started laughing, pointing…
A recent JAMA Network Open study assesses the effectiveness of web-based self-help interventions in alleviating binge eating disorder (BED). Study: Effectiveness of a Web-Based Cognitive Behavioral Self-Help Intervention for Binge Eating Disorder. Image Credit: fizkes / Shutterstock.com What is BED? BED is defined as recurrent episodes of uncontrolled overeating that lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. Prolonged BED ultimately reduces the affected individuals’ quality of life, negatively impacts social relationships, and compromises occupational performance. Thus, timely intervention is crucial to prevent BED progression to a chronic state that can lead to premature death. Previous studies have demonstrated that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)…
Shopping for yogurt, bread and granola bars might feel like a healthy decision. The dairy seems like a calcium-boosting choice for kids, the whole-grain bread looks better than the white bread, and granola bars appear so much better for you than chips or gummy bears – and in many ways, they are.But a growing number of grocery-store foods – even ones that appear healthy – are what scientists today call “ultra-processed”: fruit-flavored yogurts packed full of sugars, flavorings and thickeners like guar and carob bean gum; or packaged bread, with ingredients like soy lecithin and monoglycerides slipped in alongside the…
How do psychologists define loneliness and social isolation? Social isolation is an observed or objective measure of someone not having close relationships with kin, friends, or connection to others. Loneliness is a discrepancy between what you want from relationships and what you perceive that you’re actually getting in terms of connecting. It is very subjective, but there are some validated measures. One of the gold standards is the UCLA Loneliness Scale that’s used in a lot of survey research. Loneliness doesn’t just mean physically isolated, correct? How does food enter that equation? Correct. It’s important to understand that loneliness doesn’t…
Jump ToEverywhere you turn, there’s a story about the potentially huge physical health benefits of using a weight-management prescription to drop pounds. These medications are called glucagon-like peptide 1 agonists, or GLP-1s, and include semaglutide (known by the names Ozempic and Wegovy and Victoza) and tirzepatide (sold as Zepbound or Mounjaro). Only Wegovy, Zepbound, and Saxenda are FDA-approved for weight loss at this time; Ozempic and Mounjaro are still technically FDA-approved only to treat diabetes, though doctors do prescribe them off-label to help with obesity. There’s no doubt that they’ve become a game changer for countless people trying to lose…
Chris van Tulleken has suggested we meet at his local pizza place, Sweet Thursday, in Islington, London. If the choice seems counterintuitive for a man with a mission to improve our national diet, he puts me right when we sit down. “Pizza has become emblematic of junk food,” he says, “but proper homemade pizza is very healthy.”At Sweet Thursday, purist Italian chefs work their fresh sourdough bases in an open kitchen (rumour has it they are so purist in this vocation that they draw the line at making salad). But it is not just authenticity that counts, it is also…
By Beth Rose, Jenny Loudon and Becca Kirian Updated: May 18, 2024 Published: May 18, 2024Jenny Loudon, left, and Beth Rose, co-founders of the Alaska Eating Disorders Alliance, photographed in Anchorage on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. (Emily Mesner / ADN) One of the most insidious aspects of mental health challenges is the overwhelming sense of isolation and disconnection they can cause. Nowhere is this more evident than with eating disorders, where individuals and caregivers often conceal the life-threatening illness due to feelings of shame and stigma, believing they are alone in their struggles. During Mental Health Awareness Month in May,…
Every day in the USA at least 23 people die from eating disorders.The line between being a supportive caregiver or parent, and enabling a family member struggling with an eating disorder can become blurry when fears run the show.Enabling is defined as ‘Protecting someone from experiencing the full consequences of their behavior.’We are absolutely terrified beyond description that our loved one is disappearing before our eyes – regardless of their weight…they are absent from their body as if their true self has been hijacked by this ‘ed monster’ and we cannot find them. What we see in front of us and…
Tackling obesity is a high priority for public services. Wigan Council has an extensive number of schemes to help people lose weight, including Let’s Get Movin’, a programme of exercise and nutrition classes for families.NHS Greater Manchester launched a “fakeaways” campaign last December, putting leaflets through people’s doors that looked like takeaway menus. It is also doing a children’s healthy weight consultation.Nicola Kiggin works as a consultant at Slimming World, running classes at Hindley Independent Methodist Church on the outskirts of Wigan.Most people who join lose weight within the first week, says Kiggin. One member lost 16lbs in seven days.“There…
We are what we eat. These words of wisdom are often the guiding force for us to eat well and lead a healthy lifestyle. But, the recent news update on adulteration of foods and spices with cancer-causing agents have surely raised eyebrows and concerns over what is safe to eat?While this might be a sudden shock for many of us, the European Union (EU) had flagged this way in advance. As per reports, over 400 export quality products from India were flagged by the EU between 2019 and 2024 to be highly contaminated.The report published with a PDF list of…