Treating eating disorders: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia. Gloria Raketa Leon. Lewis Publishing Company, 1983. 113 pp. $14.95
✍ Scribed by Powers, Pauline S.
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 1986
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 142 KB
- Volume
- 5
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0276-3478
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The first two-thirds of this brief and readable text, are devoted to a discussion of the clinical presentation and treatment of the three major eating disorders. The final third of the book, written by Arthur s. Leon, outlines the principles of basic nutrition. There is a heavy emphasis throughout the book on cultural, environmental, and behavioral factors which contribute to the development of these disorders.
In Chapter 1, the "Introduction," the author posits that obesity, bulimia, and anorexia nervosa may be related bands of an eating disorder spectrum heavily influenced by societal and cultural expectations. In Chapter 2, "Obesity," she reviews the very interesting findings from a number of large epidemiological studies indicating that mild overweight states pose no known health hazards. She cites Keys' study (p. 7) in which the probability of death in the ten-year period after the first examination was found to be least in those somewhat over the average weight. Leon also reviews certain pertinent findings about body image and the changes which occur after weight loss. It has been documented by Glucksman and Hirsch (1969) and others that many obese patients continue to perceive themselves as larger than they are after weight loss; Leon cites findings from a study she and her colleagues reported (p. 11) indicating that the attitudinal aspect of body image improved despite the fact that the perceptual aspect of body image remained unchanged. The treatment section on obesity emphasizes the strengths and limitations of behavioral strategies. The importance of exercise regimens is stressed. She asserts that individual psychotherapy is not effective for obesity but does not mention the well-known study by Rand and Stunkard (1977) which suggests that psychoanalysis has a positive influence on body image and might thus be relevant to the treatment of obesity. This chapter also omits reference to the large body of research on the Protein Sparing Fast (Bistrian, 1978) which is a careful, well-supervised plan best suited for moderately obese individuals. There is but passing reference to the surgical procedures for morbid obesity and this reference is to the intestinal bypass procedure, which has now been largely supplanted by the gastric bypass (Mason et al. 1975) and its modifications, such as the gas-