Module 10a: Health behaviours - Diet

Definition of Obesity

An excessive accumulation of body fat (considered a chronic illness)

Definition of weight stigma

Social stereotypes and misconceptions about obesity

Weight Bias definition

negative attitude and views about obesity and people with obesity

Why does dieting not usually work with obesity?

Long-term: greater weight-gain

Set-point

• body has a genetically influenced, predetermined weight range

Excess weight despite healthy lifestyle

What are some alternatives to diets?

Mindful eating

Preventing weight gain

Medically supervised approaches

For very obese patients = medications/bariatric surgery

Eating Disorder definition

Characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behaviour that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food that significantly impairs physical health or psychological functioning

Definition of Anorexia Nervosa:

An eating disorder that involves drastic reduction in food intake and an unhealthy loss of weight

Bulimia Nervosa definition:

Recurrent episodes of binge eating, generally followed by purging by self-induced vomiting, laxatives use, or other means to prevent gaining weight such as excessive exercise

Binge Eating disorder definition

Characterized by binge-eating behaviour alone, where such episodes occur at a relatively high frequency and cause a great deal of distress for the individual

What is the diagnostic criteria for Anorexia Nervosa?

• Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements, leading to a significantly low body weight in the context of age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health

• Intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat, or persistent behaviour that interferes with weight gain

  • Disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight or shape is experienced.

What is the diagnostic criteria for Bulimia Nervosa?

Recurrent episodes of binge eating as characterized by both:

• Eating an excessive amount of food in a discrete period of time

• A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode

Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviours in order to prevent weight gain

The being eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviours both occur in least once a week for 3 months (average

Self-evalutaion is highly influenced by body shape and weight

The disturbance does not occur exclusively during episodes of anorexia nervosa

What is the diagnostic criteria for Binge Eating?

Binge-eating episodes associating with three or more of the following:

• Eating more rapidly than normal

• Eating until feeling uncomfortably full

• Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry

• Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating

• Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed or very guilty afterward

Sense of lack of control over eating during the episodes

Marked distress regarding binge eating

The binge eating occurs, on average, at least once a week for 3 moths

The binge eating is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behaviour as in bulimia nervosa and does not occur exclusively during the course of bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa

What is the development and course of eating disorder progression?

Typically begins during adolescence or young adulthood

Onset of anorexia and bulimia often associated or precipitated with a stressful life event

What are treatments for eating disorders?

Since eating disorders share a cognitive bias (of over estimation of shape and weight and control of body), medications to treat depression alongside psychotherpay are used.

**Psychotherapy is more effective for bulimia than anorexia