Chapter Eleven: Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa

A disorder marked by the pursuit of extreme thinness and by extreme weight loss

Restricting-type Anorexia Nervosa

A pattern of anorexia where one reduces their weight by restricting their intake of food

Binge-eating/Purging-type Anorexia Nervosa

A pattern of anorexia where one reduces their weight by forcing themselves to vomit after meals or by abusing laxatives or diuretics

Amenorrhea

The absence of menstrual cycles

Bulimia Nervosa

A disorder in which people engage in binges and compensatory behaviors

Binge

A repeated episode of uncontrollable overeating

Multidimensional Risk Perspective

A theory that identifies several kinds of risk factors that are thought to combine to help cause a disorder

Alexithymic

A person who has great difficulty putting descriptive labels on their feelings

Hypothalamus

A part of the brain that helps regulate various bodily functions, including eating and hunger

Lateral Hypothalamus

Part of the hypothalamus that produces hunger when its activated

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

Part of the hypothalamus that reduces hunger when its activated

GLP-1

Natural appetite suppressant

Weight Set Point

The weight level that a person is predisposed to maintain, controlled in part by the hypothalamus

Weight Set Point Theory

When people diet and fall to a weight below their weight set point, their brain starts trying to restore that lost weight

Metabolic Rate

The rate at which the body expends energy

Enmeshed Family Pattern

A family system in which members are overinvolved with each others affairs and overly concerned about each others welfare

Motivational Interviewing

An intervention that uses a mixture of empathy and inquiring review to help motivate clients to recognize they have a serious eating problem and commit to making constructive choices and behavior changes

Nutritional Rehab

Helping clients to eliminate their binge-burge patterns and establish good eating habits

Exposure and Response Prevention

Require clients to eat particular kinds and amounts of food and then prevent them from vomiting

Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Treatment that is used to help improve interpersonal functioning

Body Project

A program that offers weekly group sessions where members are guided through exercises that critique Western societys beauty ideals

Cognitive Dissonance Theory (CDT)

When people adopt new attitudes that contradict their other attitudes and behaviors, theyll experience emotional discomfort that they seek to eliminate by changing their old attitudes and behaviors