Author: frivvy89

The day before ultrarunner and obstacle course racing superstar Amelia Boone hit “publish” on the blog post that echoed through the endurance-sports world and beyond last week, she almost didn’t go through with it.“I was like, why am I doing this? I’m not recovered,” she told Runner’s World afterward.Even after her message went live, she spent some time second-guessing her motivations.But ultimately, Boone said, the predominant emotion she felt now that her 20-year experience with anorexia has become public knowledge is relief. Related Story“It’s honestly like having a hundred-pound weight vest lifted off,” she said.Now, she no longer had to…

F.E.A.S.T. – by parents, for parents   Some of you may be shocked by the concept of euthanasia for people with eating disorders — we at Kartini Clinic certainly are.  The concept of ‘assisted dying’ has recently been a hot topic, along with the ethics of ‘forced feeding’.  Below is the position statement of the FEAST organization, a parent-driven support network for those who have loved ones suffering from eating disorders.  They are powerful and vocal in the eating disorder community and they have taken on this issue headlong.  Kartini Clinic supports their stance and with their permission are reproducing…

F.E.A.S.T. – by parents, for parents   Some of you may be shocked by the concept of euthanasia for people with eating disorders — we at Kartini Clinic certainly are.  The concept of ‘assisted dying’ has recently been a hot topic, along with the ethics of ‘forced feeding’.  Below is the position statement of the FEAST organization, a parent-driven support network for those who have loved ones suffering from eating disorders.  They are powerful and vocal in the eating disorder community and they have taken on this issue headlong.  Kartini Clinic supports their stance and with their permission are reproducing…

Atypical eating behaviors may be a sign a child should be screened for autism, according to a new study from Penn State College of Medicine. Research by Susan Mayes, professor of psychiatry, found that atypical eating behaviors were present in 70% of children with autism, which is 15 times more common than in neurotypical children. Atypical eating behaviors may include severely limited food preferences, hypersensitivity to food textures or temperatures, and pocketing food without swallowing. According to Mayes, these behaviors are present in many 1-year-olds with autism and could signal to doctors and parents that a child may have autism.…

Binge eating and weight problems are common challenges for patients with bipolar disorder. It’s an underappreciated connection, but one with significant clinical implications. A panel at APA’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco explored factors that increase the risk of weight problems among patients with bipolar disorder and recommended medications to reduce the risk.Joel Yager, M.D., suggests that mood stabilizers such as lamotrigine or topiramate are preferred for patients with bipolar disorder who might be at risk of binge eating and/or obesity, as these medications are not associated with weight gain as a side effect.David HathcoxAccording to some studies, 25% to…

Sixteen brands of dog food may be associated with a heightened risk of heart failure in dogs, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA isn’t suggesting that pet owners stop feeding their dogs the particular brands yet, but some vets are already advising against “grain free” foods.The FDA is currently investigating more than 500 reports that appear to link dog foods that are marketed as “grain free” to canine dilated cardiomyopathy. The FDA has been warning about the foods based on peas, lentils or potatoes since July 2018, but the statement released late last week is the first…

Like a symphony, multiple brain regions work in concert to regulate the need to eat. University of Arizona researchers believe they have identified a symphony conductor — a brain region that regulates appetite suppression and activation — tucked within the amygdala, the brain’s emotional hub. The UA Department of Neuroscience team found the neurocircuitry controlling appetite loss, called anorexia, said assistant professor Haijiang Cai, who is a member of the BIO5 Institute and heads up the neuroscience lab that ran the study. Anorexia can be triggered by disease-induced inflammation, and can negatively impact recovery and treatment success. It is harmful…

Adolescents who see themselves as puny and who exercise to gain weight may be at risk of so-called muscularity-oriented disordered eating behaviors, say researchers led by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. The researchers found that 22 percent of males and 5 percent of females ages 18-to-24 exhibit these disordered eating behaviors, which are defined as including at least one of the following: eating more or differently to gain weight or bulk up, and use of dietary supplements or anabolic steroids to achieve the same goal. Left unchecked, these behaviors may escalate to muscle dysmorphia, characterized by rigid diet, obsessive over-exercising and…

A second lawsuit has been filed in South Dakota alleging that health insurer Wellmark refused to pay for a patient who underwent treatment for an eating disorder.The lawsuit says that the woman, who is identified as Bridget S., should have been covered when she went to Insight Behavioral Health Center in Chicago to undergo treatment for a severe case of bulimia nervosa.At the time she went into treatment in 2016, Bridget S. was about 23 and covered under a Wellmark policy through her parents, the lawsuit says. The policy included treatment for bulimia.More:Insurer sued after backing out on eating disorder…

A study that started in 1985 followed some 50 people who had become anorexic in their teens. It shows that 30 years later, the majority were healthy but some had persistent eating disorders. The study, published in The British Journal of Psychiatry, was carried out at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. To lose weight, people with anorexia nervosa try to starve themselves, despite already weighing less than is good for them. Of children and adolescents in Sweden, some 1% of girls and 0.1% of boys become anorexic. Treatment consists above all of psychotherapy, aimed at changing the victims’ eating behavior…