Results of a new study show that ten to fifteen percent of women
participating in a phone study were found to affected by disordered eating.
The findings come from University of Montreal researchers who conducted
phone surveys, finding the impact that mixed messages regarding weight loss
versus eating for pleasure influences disordered eating for women.
The study included 1501 women who took place in a phone survey about eating
disorders and disordered eating. None of the women were classified as
anorexic. The average age of the women was 31, and most were university
graduates. The researchers found binge eating, forced vomiting, laxative and
diuretic use among the women surveyed.
Lise Gauvin, a professor at the Université de Montréal Department of Social
and Preventive Medicine says, "Women are exposed to many contradictory
messages. They are encouraged to lose weight yet also encouraged to eat for
the simple pleasure of it." Eating disorders among the women studied were
also linked to self-perceived health.
The findings revealed that 13.7 percent of women reported binge eating one
to five days or one to seven times per month. Binge eating leads to feelings
of loss of control, as does bulimia. 2.5 percent of the women responding to
the survey reported using laxatives, diuretics, or forcing themselves to
vomit, leading to the conclusions that disordered eating among women is a
cause of concern.
Women who perceived themselves to be in poor health were more susceptible to
disordered eating behaviors, another finding of the study.
Women engage in exercise to weight control and body image. “We practice a
sport for the pleasure it provides, to feel good, but when the activity is
done to gain control over one's weight and figure, it is indicative of
someone who could be excessively concerned about their weight," says Dr.
Gauvin. "Our data suggests that a proportion of the female population
displays maladaptive eating patterns."
The findings that ten to fifteen percent of the women surveyed displayed
some sort of eating disorder underscores mixed messages to women about
weight loss and eating for pleasure. Dr. Gauvin says the study sheds new
light on bulimia and binge eating among women, and that a proportion of
women suffer from disordered eating. Based on the study results, ten to
fifteen percent of women may be affected by some form of eating disorder
that does not include anorexia.
Source : emaxhealth.com
