Science News About Eating Disorder

Biology, Not Just Society, May Increase Risk of Binge Eating During Puberty
Science Update •
Lab rat sniffing cake frosting

Biological changes associated with puberty may influence the development of binge eating and related eating disorders, according to a recent study on female rats conducted by NIMH-funded researchers.

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Most Teens with Eating Disorders Go Without Treatment
Science Update •
Teen girl resting head on desk.

About 3 percent of U.S. adolescents are affected by an eating disorder, but most do not receive treatment for their specific eating condition, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print March 7, 2011, in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

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Impaired Brain Activity Underlies Impulsive Behaviors in Women with Bulimia
Science Update •

Women with bulimia nervosa (BN), when compared with healthy women, showed different patterns of brain activity while doing a task that required self-regulation. This abnormality may underlie binge eating and other impulsive behaviors that occur with the eating disorder, according to an article published in the January 2009 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

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New Grants Will Further Understanding of the Biology, Genetics and Treatment of Eating Disorders
Science Update •

Eating disorders, which include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder, are complex and often life-threatening illnesses.

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Journal Highlights Effectiveness of Research Based Psychotherapies for Youth
Science Update •

Reviews of the current research on psychosocial and behavioral therapies, or psychotherapies, for children and adolescents found a number of "well established" and "probably efficacious" treatments for many mental disorders. For example, six were "probably efficacious" for anxiety disorders, and two were "well established" for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to scientists funded by NIMH and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, divisions of the National Institutes of Health.

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Family Involvement and Focused Intervention May be Key to Helping Teens with Bulimia
Science Update •

Family-based treatment for adolescent bulimia nervosa (FBT-BN) is more effective than an individual-based therapy called supportive psychotherapy (SPT) in helping teens overcome bulimia according to an NIMH-funded study.

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Study Tracks Prevalence of Eating Disorders
Science Update •

Results from a large-scale national survey suggest that binge-eating disorder is more prevalent than both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

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College Women at Risk for Eating Disorder May Benefit From Online Intervention
Press Release •

A long-term, large-scale study has found that an Internet-based intervention program may prevent some high risk, college-age women from developing an eating disorder.

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Antidepressant Does Not Reduce Risk Of Relapse Among Patients With Anorexia Nervosa
Science Update •

An NIMH-funded study has concluded that the antidepressant medication fluoxetine (Prozac) is no more effective than placebo in preventing relapse among patients with anorexia nervosa who had achieved a healthy weight during inpatient or day-program treatment.

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