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Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
Anti-Obesity Ads: How Far is Too Far in Addressing Childhood Obesity?
In her most recent EverydayHealth.com blog posting, Julie Holland examines the issue of campaigns designed to combat childhood obesity rates. While childhood obesity is a serious health concern, are anti-obesity campaigns effective in addressing the issue or do they shame and stigmatize overweight and obese children? Read an excerpt of the article below, or click here to read Julie’s blog post in its entirety.
There’s no argument that childhood obesity is a serious health concern. More than one-third of children ages 10-17 are obese or overweight* and obesity rates among U.S. children grew from 14.8 percent in 2003 to 16.4 percent in 2007.**
Obesity is related to more than 20 major chronic diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, and children who are obese are more than twice as likely to die prematurely before the age of 55 compared to healthy-weight children.***
Education and nutritional intervention is key to combating childhood obesity rates; however, are anti-obesity ads effective in addressing the issue or are they crossing a line into body shaming?
As some of my readers may already know, I struggled with eating disorders from the time I was seven years old through much of high school. From a very young age I battled with negative body image and a low self-esteem; being perceived by my peers as the “fat girl in class” was never easy. This perfect storm of factors triggered an onset of binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa until I was nearly 20 years old.
Many obesity prevention campaigns promote balance and moderation, practices I agree with and that I think we can all support. However, a recent anti-obesity campaign in Georgia has come under fire for, according to critics, shaming and stigmatizing children who are obese. It probably goes without saying that this anti-obesity campaign hits close to home for me. Although I’ve been in recovery from my eating disorder for 30 years now, maintaining a positive body image and self-esteem is something I work on each and every day. When I see TV ads identifying overweight children as “fat” and placing a negative connotation on that label, I worry about what someone genetically predisposed to an eating disorder might think and feel.
Posted in Anorexia Nervosa, Binge Eating, Bulimia Nervosa, EverydayHealth.com, General, In the News •
Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
“Are Parents to Blame for Their Children with Eating Disorders?”
The most recent installment of Julie Holland’s EverydayHealth.com blog addresses this key question. Recognizing that many parents of children with eating disorders wonder about their role in the development of the illness, Julie welcomes insights from Brittany Lacour, LCSW, DAACS, primary therapist at Eating Recovery Center. In the article, Brittany offers suggestions to help families, eating disorders professionals and children and adolescents understand that while it’s natural to look for a “cause,” parents are not to blame for an eating disorder. Read an excerpt of the article below, or click here to view it in its entirety.
Parents help us, teach us, raise us and are integral in forming the person we grow to become. There’s no doubt that children take on a piece of their parents personalities and behaviors when they grow up and take an active role in the world. But how does that translate when a child develops a serious illness or mental health issue? Is it his or her parents’ fault?
Eating disorders leave individuals and families faced with a complex illness that offers little room for logic or reason. The severity of the illness, combined with uncertainty of its origin leaves many of us wondering, “Who’s to blame?” This question becomes especially important when treating children with eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia. Are parents to blame for their child’s disordered eating behaviors?
Although eating disorders are in fact genetic, that doesn’t mean parents are responsible.
Brittany Lacour, LCSW, DAACS, primary therapist at Eating Recovery Center, explains that as humans we look for cause and effect—it’s natural. However, when it comes to an illness, especially a multifaceted illness with genetic, psychological and social roots, this can lead to finger pointing. Often we try to control what’s scary to us; and having a radically ill child or partner is petrifying. If it’s our fault, we then carry the faulty belief that we can “fix” it.
Posted in About Us, EverydayHealth.com, General, In the News •
Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
Autism and Eating Disorders: Are They Related?
In the most recent installment of her EverydayHealth.com blog, “The Truth About Eating Disorders,” Chief Marketing Officer Julie Holland, MHS, CEDS, explores the connection between autism and eating disorders. Read on for an excerpt of her blog post, or click here to read the post in its entirety.
There has long been scientific speculation about the connection between autism and eating disorders. Although the two disorders don’t always go hand in hand, anorexia nervosa patients share some diagnostic characteristics with individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
As many as 20 percent of anorexia patients meet the diagnostic criteria of Asperger’s syndromei, a milder variant of ASD characterized by social isolation and eccentric behavior in childhood. Additionally, a 2010 study from the Primal Health Research Centre in London revealed that females with autism and females with anorexia have strikingly similar brain functionality and are strongly driven by left-brain impulses.ii
Autism and eating disorders have compelling similarities. As found in the 2010 study, there are striking similarities between individuals with anorexia and those with autism. This finding can impact treatment for either disorder. Here are a few more ways these disorders are similar:
1.Both individuals with anorexia and individuals with autism exhibit rigidity in thinking and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.
2.Both patient populations have trouble managing change.
3.Girls and women with Asperger’s tend to be perfectionists, similar to individuals with anorexia. They often treat their weight with special interest, exhibiting an obsession with content and calories.
Posted in Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, EverydayHealth.com, General, In the News •
Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
Turning 50 Years Old: Looking Back and Moving Forward
In a recent EverydayHealth.com post, Eating Recovery Center’s Chief Marketing Officer Julie Holland, MHS, CEDS, shares personal stories and thoughts on her 50th birthday and accepting ourselves as we turn another year older.
“Last year, I had the opportunity to hear Gloria Steinem, author and feminist activist, speak and she shared how she is saddened by the fact that women don’t like to share their true ages. She encouraged women to share and be proud of their true age. I agree. I’m proud of and have never hidden or lied about my age. However, turning the “big 50” has brought up a mixture of feelings. For the majority of people, turning 50 is a monumental birthday full of nostalgia for the past and excitement for the future; and it’s no different for me.”
Read more here.
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Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
“REACTION: ‘Anna Rexia’ Halloween Costume”
In a recent post by Everyday Health blogger and Eating Recovery Center’s Chief Marketing Officer Julie Holland, MHS, CEDS, she reacts to the public outcry over the “Anna Rexia” Halloween costume and explains how the costume is not just distasteful, but also minimizes the gravity of a potentially life-threatening disease.
Halloween is a little over a month away and costume shops are popping up in empty storefronts across the country. One New York City store in particular has added a line of costumes in preparation for next month’s holiday. However, recent outcry from the eating disorders community has prompted the store to pull its “Anna Rexia” costume off the shelves.
As an eating disorders professional and someone who has recovered from my own struggles with disordered eating, I have a hard time understanding the reasoning behind this offensive costume. Promoting Halloween costumes with a “glitter screenprint” of a skeletal system and tape measure accessory minimizes the gravity of a potentially life-threatening disease. As William Walters, coordinator at the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), told The Village Voice, “It makes light of something really serious… It’s hard for us to find it funny.”
Read more here.
Posted in Anorexia Nervosa, EverydayHealth.com, In the News •
Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
Eating Disorders among Athletes: Common or Uncommon?
In the latest installment on her weekly EverydayHealth.com blog, Chief Marketing Officer Julie Holland, MHS, CEDS, features a Q&A with Page Love, MS, RD, CSSD, LD. As owner of NutriFit, Sport, Therapy, Inc. and consultant to the Atlanta Braves, WTA and ATP tennis tours and USTA Player Development, Love shares her insights on the incidence of eating disorders and compulsive exercise behaviors among athletes.
Q: If someone is an athlete, they’re typically perceived as healthy, active and eating right. Are eating disorders among athletes really that common?
A: I don’t believe that eating disorders in athletes are significantly more common than in the general public, but certain categories of athletics, such as “thinness demand” sports, are definitely at higher risk for increased incidence levels. Some “thinness demand” sports include cross-country running, gymnastics, dance, synchronized swimming, wrestling, being a jockey for horse racing and ski jumping. In these sports, scant athletic clothing or perceived “ideal” body types for each sport can influence athletes to strive for unrealistic ideals.
Read more of the interview with Page Love here.
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Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
Seeking Help for Eating Disorders: What Are the Levels of Care?
In her weekly EverydayHealth.com blog, The Truth About Eating Disorders, Julie Holland explores a key question to ask when seeking eating disorder treatment: What level of care is best for me or my loved one? Read an excerpt below, or click here to read the blog post in its entirety.
With all the decisions that are part of seeking help for eating disorders, it’s important to do your research, get the details and ask questions. A crucial step in finding the best treatment center is understanding the eating disorders programs or levels of care that are available. Not all treatment centers offer all levels of care nor is every program the right fit for every person.
Posted in EverydayHealth.com, In the News, Treatment Options •
Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
The Role of Temperament in Eating Disorders
You may already know that eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) are genetic, but did you know that an individual’s temperament, or the manner in which one thinks, behaves or reacts can also have an impact on whether or not someone is more likely to develop an eating disorder?
Chief Marketing Officer Julie Holland explains the role of temperament in eating disorders here.
Posted in Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, EverydayHealth.com, In the News •
Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
Learn More About Mental Health and Eating Disorders During Mental Health Month
“Eating disorders are the deadliest mental illness, with complexities unmatched by just about any other disease, making them a very pertinent topic during Mental Health Month. As recent research reveals, eating disorders are increasing in prevalence and affecting younger populations. Therefore, it’s vitally important for parents, friends, loved ones, teachers, coaches and counselors to be aware of eating disorders warning signs and behaviors children or teens may display that should raise a red flag.”
Read Chief Marketing Officer Julie Holland’s post about Mental Health Awareness Month on her blog at EverydayHealth.com.
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Eating Recovery Center In the News: EverydayHealth.com
The Truth About Eating Disorders: One Year Later
Chief Marketing Officer Julie Holland’s blog on EverydayHealth.com, The Truth About Eating Disorders, is one year old. Looking back on a year’s worth of blogging, Julie Holland revisits some of the most interesting topics she has covered.
Read more here.
Posted in EverydayHealth.com, General •
