Prevention of Eating Disorders

Preventive measures should include education about normal body weight
for height and techniques used in advertising and the media to promote an
unrealistic body image. Parents, teachers, coaches, and health care providers
all play a role in prevention. Parents, coaches, and teachers need to be
educated about the messages they give to growing children about bodies,
body development, and weight. In addition, they need to be aware of early
signs of risk. Health care providers need to include screening for eating disorders
as a routine part of care. Specific indicators include dieting for
weight loss associated with unrealistic weight goals, criticism of the body, social
isolation, cessation of menses, and evidence of vomiting or laxative or
diuretic use.

Sources for Further Study
Battegay, Raymond. The Hunger Diseases. Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson,
1997. Addresses the emotional hunger that, the author contends, underlies
all eating disorders, from anorexia to obesity.
Bruch, Hilde. The Golden Cage: The Enigma of Anorexia Nervosa. Reprint. Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001. A classic work by a pioneer
in the field of eating disorders. Portrays the development of anorexia
nervosa as an attempt by a young woman to attain a sense of control and
identity. Discusses the etiology and treatment of anorexia from a modified
psychoanalytic perspective.
Brumberg, Joan J. Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa. Rev. ed.
New York: Vintage, 2000. Outlines the history of anorexia nervosa. Examines
the syndrome from multiple perspectives while leaning toward a
cultural and feminist perspective. A well-researched and very readable
work.

Gordon, Richard. Eating Disorders: Anatomy of a Social Epidemic. 2d rev. ed.
New York: Blackwell, 2000. A survey of current clinical practice in dealing
with eating disorders as well as thorough coverage of their history and social
context.

Hirschmann, Jane R., and Carol H. Munter. When Women Stop Hating Their
Bodies: Freeing Yourself from Food and Weight Obsessions. New York: Fawcett,
1997. Follow-up to the authors’ Overcoming Overeating (1988) reviews the
psychological basis for compulsive eating and provides alternative strategies
to persons who have an addictive relationship with food. Presents
convincing arguments against dieting and proposes that self-acceptance, physical activity, and health are more appropriate long-term solutions to
the problem of overeating.

Sacker, Ira M., and Marc A. Zimmerman. Dying to Be Thin: Understanding and
Defeating Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. Updated ed. New York: Warner
Books, 2001. A practical approach, written by two medical doctors, to understanding
the sources and causes of eating disorders and how to overcome
them. Includes a guide to resources, treatment clinics, and support
groups.
Rebecca Lovell Scott
See also: Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Hunger; Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder.