Binge-eating and obesity on campus

Psychologists from the Center for Obesity Research and Education in Denver, Colorado have been looking into binge eating and weight problems among female college students. 715 students completed an on-line survey about health habits, behaviours and attitudes and gave their height and weight. Overall African-American students were less likely to binge eat and had less severe symptoms when they did. For both groups the triggers for binges were similar and included feeling depressed and fat. About a third of college students are overweight and this was confirmed by the study which found that 22% of the white students and 37% of the black ones were obese or overweight.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091025162457.htm

Bodybuilders, body dissatisfaction and bulimia

Body dissatisfaction and unhealthy eating practices are common in sports and activities that require low body fat or a low weight for improved performance. Competitive bodybuilding requires its participants to be exceptionally lean and bodybuilders often have unhealthy eating patterns and use anabolic steroids. A Canadian study of 45 women compared competitive bodybuilders with recreational weight trainers. The study found high rates of weight and shape preoccupation, body dissatisfaction, bulimic practices and anabolic steroid use among the bodybuilders and similar problems (albeit to a lesser degree) in the weight trainers. The competitive bodybuilders shared many of the eating patterns of the women with bulimia but few psychological traits.

Goldfield, Gary S. - Body image, disordered eating and anabolic steroid use in female bodybuilders Eating Disorders May-June 2009, 17(3), 200-210

Brain scans and bulimia

Women with bulimia may be more impulsive than other women, according to research carried out at Columbia University in the U.S. The researchers used a task called the Simon Spatial Incompatibility Task to measure impulsiveness. In the task an arrow appears on a computer screen and participants have to decide in which direction it is pointing. The arrow can appear in any place on the screen, so, for instance, an arrow could appear on the right-hand side of the screen but pointing left. The idea behind the test is that more impulsive people will reach a decision based on the arrow's position rather than the direction in which it is pointing and therefore get more wrong answers. The study compared 20 women with bulimia to 20 controls and the participants also undertook a brain scan while they took the tests. The women with bulimia did less well on the task and showed less activity in an area of the brain called the frontostriatal circuits which help individuals control their voluntary behaviour.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090105175031.htm

Infertility and mental health

A study comparing the mental health of fertile and infertile couples has found that couples who are infertile are more at risk of mental-health problems. The study, by researchers at the University of Siena, compared 81 infertile couples with 70 fertile ones. The infertile women were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety and also from binge-eating disorder. Infertile men were more likely to show minor symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia.

You can read more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE5013FX20090102?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Mental-health literacy and bulimia

Mental-health literacy can be defined as "knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders that aid their recognition, management or prevention." It is thought that poor mental-health literacy is a major factor in low or inappropriate treatment-seeking among individuals affected by mental disorders and this idea has been backed up by studies involving people with anxiety, mood and substance-use disorders. Researchers in Australia looked at mental-health literacy in 158 women who had bulimia or similar conditions. The participants believed that bulimia would be difficult to treat and that even if initial treatments were successful relapse would be likely. GPs, psychologists, counsellors and close friends were all perceived to be helpful. Lifestyle changes, including taking vitamins and minerals, were also highly regarded. However, the participants were ambivalent about psychiatrists and using medication to treat the condition. Most participants believed that bulimia was common among women in the community and many had occasionally or often thought that it 'might not be too bad' to have bulimia. Low self-esteem was thought to be the most likely cause of bulimia. The study concluded that the participants held some beliefs 'likely to be conducive to lower or inappropriate treatment seeking,' and called for poor mental-health literacy to be addressed in early-intervention programmes.

Mond, Jonathan M. ... [et al] - Mental health literacy and eating disorders: what do women with bulimic eating disorders think and know about bulimia nervosa and its treatment? Journal of Mental Health December 2008 17(6), 565-575