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Food Insecurity and Eating Disorders: Debunking Myths and Increasing Awareness
While literature on the nuances within eating disorders (EDs) continues to grow, there is still much to be debunked about their development, trajectory, and impact. One area that has been gaining attention in ED research and clinical work is food insecurity. Food insecurity can be defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food to lead a well-nourished and healthy life (Coleman et al., 2014) and has been found to be associated with increases in ED pathology (See a past blog post for a review of a study on this link). Recent works explaining the food insecurity and ED
Tips for Accepting Your Body in the Summer
Approximately 70% of women report withdrawing from activities due to body image concerns,1 which can make it especially difficult to enjoy the summer season often filled with activities. The summer can be particularly challenging for women, sexual minority men, and others working on body acceptance or eating disorder recovery. Research has found that in the summer, patterns of body dissatisfaction are often linked to peaks in pressures from media and peers, feelings that our bodies are on display, and appearance comparisons.2 Together, these findings can lead to a heightened sense of insecurities and difficulties managing body expectations in the summer.
Stories Left Untold: Eating Disorders in Men
June is National Men’s Health Month, an annual opportunity to raise awareness around preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. One historically neglected aspect of men’s health is eating disorders.1 Popular narratives around eating disorders suggest that they are predominately experienced by wealthy, thin, White females.2 Despite this misconception, boys and men do experience eating disorders. In fact, about 1 in 3 people struggling with an eating disorder is male.3 Men represent approximately 25% of individuals diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and 35-40% of those diagnosed with binge eating disorder.3,4
