The Eating Disorder Inventory in evaluation of impaired eating behaviour in subjects requesting nutritional consultation

The Nexus of Training Duration, Body Image, Nutritional Practices, and Mental Health: Insights from a Strength Training Cohort

This study investigated the intricate relationship between strength training and its effects on body image, psychological health, and nutritional habits. By examining 605 participants, divided into two groups based on training frequency, the research aimed to discern how varying intensities of training influenced different wellness facets. The investigation employed a comprehensive survey, gathering demographic data, training specifics, dietary patterns, and psychological characteristics, utilizing statistical tools for analysis. Results unveiled significant differences in dietary habits and psychological profiles between groups with higher and lower training frequencies. The group with more frequent training displayed less favourable health outcomes and suboptimal dietary habits, challenging the prevailing notion that increased training frequency leads to better health. The study emphasized the necessity of a balanced approach to physical training, highlighting the need for personalized strategies that encompass both physical and mental health considerations. The findings exposed the complexities of training regimens and their broader implications on individual health, suggesting that enhanced training frequency alone does not assure improved health outcomes. This research significantly contributed to the domain by providing insights into how the frequency of strength training could differentially affect health and well-being, offering valuable guidelines for fitness professionals and healthcare providers.

Psychopathological factors and personality dimensions on dysfunctional eating behaviors in a sample of individuals with obesity

Introduction

Obesity and eating disorders are considered to be part of a broad spectrum of disorders associated with weight issues and maladaptive eating styles. Several studies show that psychopathological and personality characteristics contribute to the development and maintenance of obesity and dysfunctional eating behaviors, showing a bidirectional relationship. The purpose of this study was to understand the role of psychopathological factors and personality dimensions on dysfunctional eating behaviors in a sample of individuals with obesity.

Methods

The study was conducted with 96 individuals with obesity (31 males and 65 females) who underwent psychological assessment. The instruments administered included the Cognitive Behavioral Assessment 2.0 - Primary Scales, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2, and the Eating Disorder Inventory. Relationships between dysfunctional eating behaviors and personality and psychopathological factors were explored through mediation analysis.

Results and discussion

Our results showed that difficulties related to impulse control and behavior, along with negative and dysphoric emotions, may be associated with difficulties in eating behavior. Mediation analysis showed that the combination of depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptomatology may exacerbate or contribute to the occurrence of eating disorders. These psychopathological aspects should be taken into account during the assessment of patients who decide to undergo bariatric surgery and should be targets of specific psychological interventions.

Interoception, eating behaviour and body weight

BACKGROUND

Interoception refers to the process of identifying and listening to internal bodily signals, which may be a modifiable determinant of appetite regulation and weight gain. The objective was to examine whether the extent to which self-reported interoception is associated with higher BMI is explained by eating behavior traits.

METHODS

UK adults (N = 1181, 49% female, 53% with overweight/obesity) completed validated self-report measures of interoception, habitual tendencies to eat in response to satiety signals (intuitive eating), emotional over-eating and other eating traits.

RESULTS

Poorer self-reported ability to detect interoceptive signals (deficits in interoceptive accuracy) was predictive of higher BMI (r = - 0.07 (95% CI -0.13; -0.01), p < .05). In parallel mediation analyses, participants with poorer interoceptive accuracy were significantly less likely to report considering satiety signals when eating and this explained the cross-sectional association between interoceptive accuracy and higher BMI. There was also some evidence that participants with poorer interoceptive accuracy were more likely to report emotional overeating and this also in part explained why interoceptive accuracy was predictive of higher BMI.

CONCLUSIONS

Deficits in interoception may decrease the likelihood that satiety signals are integrated into eating behaviour related decision making and in doing so contribute to higher BMI.

Differential diagnoses to consider at an eating disorders clinic

OBJECTIVE

To determine the reasons for referral of patients without eating disorders who were within a cohort of patients referred to an adult tertiary care eating disorders program.

METHODS

Cases were obtained by retrospectively reviewing all the charts of patients who had been referred to a single eating disorders program over a 20-year period from 1981 to 2000. All referred cases had been screened by a nurse using a telephone or written questionnaire.

RESULTS

Thirty-three out of 987 patients (3.3%) were identified as having no eating disorders. Four subjects were males (12.1%) and 29 were females (87.9%). After investigation, 16 were found to have a psychiatric diagnosis, 8 had a medical diagnosis, and 8 had no identifiable diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that the screening process for referral to a tertiary care eating disorders program is highly reliable and suspicion for a patient without an eating disorder should be low; in comparison with the eating disorder population, these patients are more likely to be male and psychiatric illnesses are twice more likely than medical disorders to be diagnosed.

Evolution of symptom severity during residential treatment of females with eating disorders

OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of this study was to measure the evolution of symptom severity in a residential programme based on a multidimensional approach to treatment that includes cognitive-behavioural, interpersonal, experiential and family therapies. The specific aims of the study were: 1) to evaluate changes in symptom severity in bulimic and anorexic patients between admission and discharge; 2) to compare the severity of these symptoms with those of non-patient college females (control group); and 3) to monitor the progression of symptom changes six months after discharge.

METHODS

The evolution of symptom severity was measured by comparing the mean raw scores of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI original inventory, 1983 version), which was administered at the beginning and end of the residential treatment. A subgroup of patients was also administered the EDI six months after discharge. The study involved 99 females: 47 with bulimia and 52 with anorexia as diagnosed by means of a clinical interview using DSM-IV criteria. The mean raw EDI scores in the control group (FC1, female college students) were obtained from the EDI manual. The population means were compared using the t-test for paired data (Microsoft Excel, version 2000).

RESULTS

The overall results for the population as a whole show that the eight subscales of the EDI improved significantly with treatment (<0.001). The subscales with the largest numerical improvements were drive for thinness, ineffectiveness and interoceptive awareness. When divided on the basis of diagnosis, the mean feelings of perfectionism score of the bulimic patients was less than that of the control female college sample; the symptoms of bulimia in the anorexic patients were similar to those found in the control group. The fact that the mean follow-up scores for a number of the ED1 subscales remained similar to those recorded at the time of discharge suggests that some of the improvements in symptoms remained for at least six months.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of our study show that multidimensional residential treatment leads to statistically significant changes in the severity of the symptoms manifested by females with eating disorders.