Eating Disorders I

What is the issue behind this definition of eating disorders?

"A persistent disturbance of eating behaviour or behaviour intended to control weight, which significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning" (Fairburn & Walsh, 2002)

Not all about weight

What is wrong with the stereotypes behind eating disorders?

Only 15% of cases are underweight

What is the diagnostic criteria for Anorexia Nervosa?

Persistent restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight

What are the subtypes of Anorexia nervosa?

Restricting type and binge-eating/purging type

What are some critical evaluations of the definition of Anorexia Nervosa?

Does not take into account athletes & gymnasts

Weight is not a surefire indicator

What is the diagnostic criteria for Bulimia Nervosa?

Recurrent episodes of binge eating or inappropriate compensatory behaviour in order to prevent weight gain

What are some critical evaluations of the definition of Bulimia Nervosa?

Subjective definition of 'binge' and defining compensatory behaviours

What is the diagnostic criteria for Binge-eating disorder?

Recurrent episodes of binge eating/ eating without being hungry/uncomfortably full

What are some critical evaluations of the definition of Binge-eating disorder?

Subjective definition of 'binge' and for how long

What are Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED)?

Present with many of the symptoms of other eating disorders, but do not meet the full criteria for diagnosis

Why were Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED) introduced?

Eating disorders are very individual and may not fit diagnostic criteria for other disorders

What is Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)?

Disturbance in eating or feeding & Absence of typical beliefs about food or fear of weight gain

What are the subtypes of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)?

Sensory-based avoidance

Lack of interest

Food associated with fear-evoking stimuli

Do we need all these diagnoses of eating disorders?

Most people with eating disorders fall under OSFED therefore there is no best rigid treatment

What are co-occurring psychological problems with eating disorders?

Anxiety

Depression

Personality Disorders

Substance Use

Bodily dysfunction

What is incidence?

Number of new cases in a set window of time

What is prevalence?

Number of current cases (point prevalence) or number of people who have had the problem over the past year (annual prevalence), or case over lifetime (lifetime prevalence)

What are the prevalence rates of eating disorders? (Beat, 2012)

750k cases in the UK, mainly focusing on young females

Can we find out the number of cases from medical records reviews?

No, as GPs are not perfect at spotting cases

How does the impact of westernisation affect the identification and prevalence of eating disorders?

Western media affects non-western people

What are some critical evaluations of the theories of causation?

Lack of longitudinal data

Selective sampling

Risk of selective memory & misinterpreting associations

Why are neurobiological factors unclear?

No genes are fully responsible

Biological factors conflicting

What are the emotional effects of starvation?

mood deficits

cognitive deficits

social isolation

behavioural inactivation

What are cognitive patterns in the maintenance of eating disorders?

Low-self esteem

Negative self-attribution

Perfectionism

What is the Broken Cognitive Link? (Waller & Mountford, 2015)

Drives restriction, then bingeing, then gaining weight, then restricting, with a strong cognitive dissonance element

What are safety behaviours in the maintenance of eating disorders?

Temporary calming methods that can be harmful in the long term

What are the emotional factors in the maintenance of eating disorders?

Anxiety is the biggest single emotional maintaining and triggering emotion for eating problems

What are the social factors in the maintenance of eating disorders?

Social pressure in western cultures to be thin or heavily muscular

What are the formulations of cases?

Allowing for the way that individuals differ in their history and their potential causal and maintaining factors

How can we formulate behaviours of binging?

Normalising their triggers and setting conditions to identify risks

What is the Functional Analytic Mode (Slade,1982)?

Central role of control

The stress is on the maintenance elements