Research Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological needs of children and adolescents with Eating Disorders (ED) directed towards their mothers. Since its gender specific, only female subjects were recruited for this study. A one message question structured interview was developed which was not jus easy to understand but also helped the patients with ED. The quetionaire started with basic questions about the changes in the attitudes of their mothers or if they are receiving any useful support from their mothers. The interview lasted upto 30 mins and 1 hour with the patient and the mother respectively. Then the recorded interviews were analyzed and patients were grouped into four phases namely anorexic, bulimic, chronic and stable bas on the interview data and typical classification of Eds by S. Murakami. The responses to the OMQ wwere then classified into 7 categories of need directed toward mothers namely, attachment, cooperation in meeting their goals, longing for love, changing attitudes toward family members, respect for self reliance, expression for apology, and expression of appreciation. The research also showed how OMQ structured interview was advantageous. This convenient and simple method, which was quick to use, could also be used to elicit the psychological needs and to avert the responses related to meals and food. It may also assist mothers to understand patients’ needs “here and now” an to build positive interactions without pressure related to eating behaviours. Patients’ psychological needs were related to phases of their inless. Besides of having various advantages this study is limited since it’s a newly developed OMQ structured interview and has limited number of subjects. Further research with larger sample size may be helpful for longitudinal investigation of the relationships and to evaluate the efficacy of information .

Http://www.euronet.nl/~jonkr/, Ron Jonk-. "Anorexia Nervosa." University of Maryland Medical Center | Home. Web. 18 July 2011. <http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/anorexia-nervosa-000012.htm>

Depression and Anorexia go hand in hand !

Depression and eating disorders are correlated. Its not uncommon to find people with psychological disorders that co exist with their anorexia. Infact, psychological factors are one of the contributors that lead to eating disorders.  In certain cases, eating disorder is a secondary symptom to an underlying psychological disorder.  Some of the psychological disorders that co exist with anorexia include, OCD, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bipolar 2, Panic disorders, personality disorder.  Certain people with eating disorder may also be exhibiting other addictive and self destructive behaviours which is a reaction to a low self - esteem and a negative means of coping with life and stress. It may include things from alcholism to cutting and self mutilation.  The low self esteem makes them feel that they deserve to be hurt and can also be used to block out emotional pain or to make them feel “strong”. These psychological disorders, when combined with eating disorders leave long lasting effects on the person suffering.  Its vital to recognize if depression is causing anorexia or anorexia is causing depression so that the treatment can be planned accordingly.

References: 

Http://www.euronet.nl/~jonkr/, Ron Jonk-. "Anorexia Nervosa." University of Maryland Medical Center | Home. Web. 18 July 2011. <http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/anorexia-nervosa-000012.htm>.

Anorexia Nervosa | Anorexia Treatment | Program | The Something Fishy Website on Anorexia Eating Disorders." Eating Disorders | Anorexia | Bulimia | Binge Eating Disorder | Compulsive Overeating | The Something Fishy Website on Eating Disorders. Web. 20 July 2011. <http://www.something-fishy.org/whatarethey/anorexia.php>.

OMG.. I need to start dieting!!

Are you trying to figure out a dieting plan in order to lose some weight? If yes, then you are wrong. Dieting may help you in losing weight over a short period of time, however; it involves starving, and that may lead to a serious health condition. There is a huge perception amongst the people that dieting and starving yourself will help in losing the fat belly that you have had for years. The fact of the matter is, a healthy eating lifestyle will help you in losing that fat belly, although over a longer time period, but forever. Before you starve yourself, you need to keep in mind that dieting will lead you in losing the vital nutrients of the body that may lead towards cancer or diabetes. Some of the diet plans, recommended by some of the “nutritionists” may involve in complete elimination of carbs, protein and fat from your daily food, whereas, in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle you need all these food types in balance. Personally, in my opinion diets are not only unhealthy but also boring. When you are jumping on the dieting plan, just ask yourself that for how long you can have a bowl of soup or a glass of juice? Not for long I guess, however; eating healthy is always fun and it helps you to stay in a great shape, not by only helping you to reduce weight, but also giving your body the required nutrients and calories. Not only this, but apart from that, you will not have to worry about counting the calories whenever you go to the supermarket for your food shopping. Now, looking at some of the benefits that you will gain from a healthy eating plan is numerous as compared to what a dieting plan will give you. Although it will take you a little extra time in losing the extra weight but the fact of the matter is that with a diet plan you will gain that extra weight again as soon as you give up on the dieting program whereas, if you are on a healthy diet, you will manage to lose weight permanently. Healthy diet plan, as opposed to a diet, gives you a complete plan towards weight loss that means you have to implement healthy lifestyle changes in order to guarantee success whereas, dieting is only concerned with what you eat and drink. A healthy nutrition plan will always encourage you to educate you about what you should eat rather than just telling you what to eat.. You can always make healthy eating choices and educate yourself about your eating needs for permanent results. 

"Fitness and Nutrition Center: Diet vs. Healthy Eating Plan: 5 Big Differences." Fitness and Nutrition Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2011. <http://rxsportz.blogspot.com/2011/06/diet-vs-healthy-eating-plan-5-big.html>.

"Healthy Eating Vs Dieting For Maximum Fat Loss Results" Articles Fiesta. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2011. <http://articlesfiesta.com/healthy-eating-vs-dieting-for-maximum-fat-loss-results-2>.

Ugly Barbie?

The above screenshots are from a website that sells dolls named barbies with stylish clothes and an enhanced image that is idolized by most little girls. Looking at the screenshots , we automatically find her attractive and beautiful. Dressed up in finest clothes and always looking so together and pretty, but at the same time, promotes an image which is not pretty at all. Heavy breasts with larger hipsize and extra skinny waist, in other words "an hour glass figure" might look pretty in this dolls but infact is ugly from a health point of view. In a recent study by a group of Developmental Psychologist of the University of West England, it was found out that the Barbie Dolls have affected the life of nearly 200 elementary aged girls, to be more specific the age group of five to eight. Since every girls want to be as “pretty” as Barbie, what they don’t know is that “pretty” is the last word that will come to mind once they have reached the stage of being the Barbie. A lot of girls will go through a lot of tortures including the usage of Botox, Restylane and face lifts; a phenomenon known as the Body Dysmorphic Disorder. When girls look at the signature tiny waist of Barbie, they obsess about their body figures and they start to develop anorexia. Such people will go through all the possible procedures including plastic surgery but even then they won’t feel better about themselves.  Dr Margaret Ashwell, former director of the British Nutrition Foundation, stated that “Children can be influenced at an early age and we need to be aware of that and take appropriate steps”. We must not forget about the fact that severely malnourished people can not only develop cognitive impairment but also anorexia, which is hard to come back from if proper actions are not taken in the very beginning. Anorexia, as we all know, is an eating disorder in which one refuses to maintain a healthy body weight due to the concern of the one’s body shape. Now when girls look at the Barbie dolls and their “Spaghetti like thin bodies”, they start to feel insecure about their own body shape, hence putting  themselves into practices of malnutrition.

 Without caring for the medical aspects and feeling insecure about their body shape and weight, they develop a habit of not eating a proper diet just to look “thin” like the Barbie dolls, it consequently leads them to anorexia.  Barbie is, without a doubt, one of the most famous toys in the world today but the question that still remains is: is it setting our little girls up for issues? We all, especially girls, need to remember that even if we are not as skinny as the Barbie, they are still beautiful.
Realistically none of the girls would actually want barbie like figure proportions. If she were a real human, she'd be 7'2" tall with a figure measurements of 39-23-33. Think about your quest of becoming barbie, give it a second thought for if it's really worth it!

Life-Sized Barbie’s Bizarre Body: Eating Disorder Awareness Week Read More at FYI Living: Http://fyiliving.com/health-news/life-size-barbies-bizarre-body-eating-disorder-awareness-week/#ixzz1P8b80Vte." FYI Living. 20 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 June 2011. <http://fyiliving.com/mental-health/life-size-barbies-bizarre-body-eating-disorder-awareness-week/>.

Knipper, Cathy. "Eating Disorders Real Life Story – Teen Creates ‘Real Barbie’ to Fight Eating Disorders." Social Workers. Web. 12 June 2011. <http://www.helpstartshere.org/mind-and-spirit/eating-disorders/eating-disorders-real-life-story-teen-creates-real-barbie-to-fight-eating-disorders.html>.

Pretty and skinny or just pretty skinny?

The priorities of most people have been changing big time and are flipping from qualitative to something that just "looks" pretty. People tend to push themselves towards looking like a generalized image of a man/woman created by the media. Women especially have been the major target of this particular disorder where their reach for beauty perfection leads to a very imperfect health. Fashion industry is blissfully unaware of the health issues they're spreading by exposing the unhealthy image of beauty to the teens and women. It has almost made impossible for someone to look into the mirror and be happy about how they look or love their body. They get sentenced to the idea of loosing weight and looking "pretty and skinny" which forces them to starve themselves and make them look just pretty skinny. The dissatisfaction created by the magazines and tv commercials among the women about the image of a 'perfect' body has serious mental and physical affects on its targets. 
Through this Blog, I intend to make an effort to create at least a little awareness about the eating disorder that affects a lot of women of my age and allow them to feel less guilty about themselves for eating an extra piece of cake. My objective is to alert the women about the lies that media projects on them about a 'beautiful' body and mentally forces them to undergo a stressful situation of loosing the healthy weight when they do not need to.