Eating Disorder Cognitions Research Articles

Disordered eating behaviours and cognitions in young women with obesity: relationship with psychological status

To examine levels of eating disorder behaviours and cognitions of young women with obesity in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia and assess the impact upon psychological status. General population cross-sectional survey. A total of 4891 young women from the community aged 18-42 years, of which 630 were in the obese weight range. Body mass index (BMI), eating disorder psychopathology (eating disorder examination questionnaire), and psychological distress (K-10). Women with obesity had significantly higher levels of dietary restraint, eating concern, weight concern, shape concern, binge eating, misuse of diuretics, use of diet pills and fasting compared to other women in the community. These eating disorder cognitions and behaviours were associated with increased levels of psychological distress. In women with obesity, eating concern, weight concern, shape concern, dietary restraint and decreased age predicted psychological distress in a multivariate model. Among other women in the community, behaviours such as laxative misuse, 'hard' exercise and subjective bulimic episodes also contributed to the model predicting psychological distress. As disordered eating psychopathology is high in young obese women and negatively impacts upon psychological status, obesity prevention and treatment should consider eating disorder psychopathology and mental health outcomes.

Reported childhood sexual abuse and eating-disordered cognitions and behaviors

Links have been proposed between childhood sexual abuse and the development of eating disorders (e.g., Fallon & Wonderlich, 1997; Root & Fallon, 1989). However, the reported prevalence of such trauma in the eating-disordered population varies widely across studies, due to differences in definitions, methodologies and tools used (Welch & Fairburn, 1994). Given the similar prevalences of reported sexual abuse in eating-disordered patients, female psychiatric controls, and non-psychiatric controls, some researchers have concluded that there is no specific relationship between sexual abuse and the eating disorders (Pope & Hudson, 1992; Welch & Fairburn, 1994). However, while there appears to be no straightforward causal link between childhood sexual abuse and the simple presence of an eating disorder, there does appear to be evidence for more complex relationships between abuse and specific bulimic behaviors and eating attitudes. For example, when one compares diagnostic subgroups of eatingdisordered patients, the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse is unusually low among restrictive anorexics, but high among women with disorders involving bulimic behaviors (e.g., Steiger & Zanko, 1990; Waller, Halek, & Crisp, 1993). Bingeing and purging behaviors appear to regulate disturbing cognitions and emotions, which can arise from an abuse history (e.g., Root and Fallon, 1989). Similar links appear to be found with other behaviors that can be characterized as assisting in the blocking of intolerable emotional

Eating-disordered behaviors, body fat, and psychopathology in overweight and normal-weight children.

This study examined eating-disordered pathology in relation to psychopathology and adiposity in 162 non-treatment-seeking overweight (OW) and normal weight (NW) children, ages 6-13 years. Participants experienced objective or subjective binge eating (S/OBE; loss-of-control eating), objective overeating (OO), or no episodes (NE). OW children experienced significantly higher eating-disordered cognitions and behaviors than NW children and more behavior problems than NW children: 9.3% endorsed S/OBEs, 20.4% reported OOs, and 70.4% reported NEs. OW children reported S/OBEs more frequently than did NW children (p =.01), but similar percentages endorsed OOs. S/OBE children experienced greater eating-disordered cognitions (ps from <.05 to <.01) and had higher body fat (p <.05) than OOs or NEs. OOs are common in childhood, but S/OBEs are more prevalent in OW children and associated with increased adiposity and eating-disordered cognitions.

The Relationship between Health and Fitness Magazine Reading and Eating-Disordered Weight-Loss Methods among High School Girls

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between reading women's health and fitness magazines and the use of eating-disordered diet methods (laxatives, appetite suppressants/diet pills, intentional vomiting, and restricting calories to 1,200 a day or less) among a group of 498 adolescent girls at two western U.S. high schools. The authors found moderate to strong positive associations between reading frequency and the use of these unhealthy weight-control practices, which are often the first steps toward the development of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Frequent readers also scored significantly higher on the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale, which measures the presence of eating-disordered cognitions, than moderate or infrequent readers.

Assessment of cognitive variables relevant to cognitive behavioral perspectives on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

Several cognitive behavioral writers have described cognitions regarding food, eating, and body weight as central to the psychopathology of anorexia and bulimia. However, only preliminary efforts have been undertaken to develop valid and reliable assessment methodologies for these cognitions. This paper reviews the current status of self-report questionnaires, thought-sampling procedures, and methods from cognitive psychology as applied to the assessment of eating disorder cognitions.

Self-perception, body dissatisfaction and manifestations of eating-disordered cognitions and behaviors in nutritionists

Self-perception, body dissatisfaction and manifestations of eating-disordered cognitions and behaviors in nutritionists