Spotlight on Eating Disorders
By Thomas Insel on February 24, 2012
National Eating Disorders Awareness Week starts February 26. Dr. Insel discusses some surprising facts about these disorders, which are among the most fatal.
Topic Page: Eating Disorders
NIMH Pages About Eating Disorders
Overview of Eating Disorders…
Find current clinical trials on Eating Disorders…
Publications About Eating Disorders
- Eating Disorders
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A detailed booklet that describes the symptoms, causes, and treatments of eating disorders. En Español
Science News About Eating Disorders
- Biology, Not Just Society, May Increase Risk of Binge Eating During Puberty
- Science Update
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.
- Most Teens with Eating Disorders Go Without Treatment
- Science Update
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Posts About Eating Disorders
Meeting Summaries About Eating Disorders
- NIMH Workshop on the Classification of Eating Disorders
- July 01, 2006
Rockville, Maryland
In July 2006, NIMH supported a workshop that focused on classification and diagnosis of eating disorders.