1. The Family Way
Home is where your heart is, and it starts where the mouth is. Parents can go a long way in providing emotional support to initiate and sustain habits that decrease weight. According to an August 2008 report published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, researchers from University of Minnesota Division of Epidemiology and Community Health find that parents can raise healthy children by providing a supportive home food environment. They suggest parental role models for healthy eating habits and physical activity patterns. Inculcating a measure of self-esteem that has more to it than physical beauty might depend on healthy emotional and psychological attitudes. Parents may have a duty to detect any signs or symptoms of eating disorders. Indeed, studies documented with the National Institute of Mental Health suggest that a psychological approach could help someone with anorexia gain weight and improve eating habits and moods. Cognitive behavioral therapy may work, but nothing compares with your own home, and close relatives or family members if you wish to quit your eating disorders.
2. Does a Medical Approach Work?
If all your attempts at home fail to get your eating right, perhaps it's high time your physician stepped in. Your doctor may start by attempting to see if you are in your right frame mentally and emotionally, to start with. He may go in for prescription medications that include antidepressants, antipsychotics or mood stabilizers. The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has also approved a few antidepressants, such as fluoxetine, for bulimia, binge eating and purging. They all have their limitations, though. According to a Review and Meta-analysis of Pharmacotherapy for Binge-eating Disorder published in the July 2008 edition of Obesity(SilverSpring) journal, University of Oslo researchers find that patients with binge-eating disorders may benefit from certain medications like orlistat and topiramate. They "may enhance likelihood of stopping binge eating short term, but that longer-term effects are unknown."
3. Individual Approach
At first thought, it might seem appropriate to adopt a combined approach involving medical attention and supportive psychotherapy to overcome an eating disorder. However, the University of Oslo researchers find that a "combination of cognitive or behavioral treatments is unlikely to enhance binge outcomes." Therefore, according to the National Institute of Mental Health's Perspective published in the American Psychologist 2007, the best strategy might still be an "individualized or personalized care that is based on an understanding of what treatment will be most effective in which patient." Researchers are digging into genes that hold clue to your risk. New medications and biomarkers might be developed based on specific gene products. And novel diagnostic tools in neuroscience may offer creative new ways to treat your eating disorders.
