Results suggest that eating disorder websites do not adequately address diagnostic criteria or treatment options.
Quality of Eating Disorders Websites: What Adolescents and Their Families Need to Know, Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 2011
I don't like that. I'm going to be adding some information soon to remedy this on my own site.
• What Are Eating Disorders?
• Diagnostic Criteria for Eating Disorders
• The Future of ED Diagnosis
• Treatment Options for EDs
• Causes of Eating Disorders
• Associated Health Dangers
Causes of Eating Disorders
In the distant past eating disorders were seen by the medical profession as either attempts to bogard attention by maintaining a "sick role", or acts of rebellion against the parents. Later this was tied in to the concept of trauma or dysfunctionally strict parenting. These theories linger today in the world of eating disorders, but the actual origins are still not understood. However the theories are moving away from what was historically believed, which was strongly biased against women due to medical and social prejudice.
The current working model for both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are based on more recent research and empiracal evidence, and point not to environmental or reactionary causes, but to genetics and chemistry. It seems that a person is born with a chemical predisposition towards an eating disorder, evidenced by the common brain structure between patients. The disorder "begins" when an individual experiences a sudden weight loss or reduction in calories - often through volitional dieting, but sometimes caused by other factors such as illness. This starts the brain cycle of restriction or binge/purge.
AGE: 28 