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1 – 10 of 322Eating disorders have long been perceived to occur primarily in women; few disorders in general medicine or psychiatry exhibit such a skew in gender distribution. Men and women…
Abstract
Eating disorders have long been perceived to occur primarily in women; few disorders in general medicine or psychiatry exhibit such a skew in gender distribution. Men and women with eating disorders share common risk factors and exhibit some overlap in clinical presentation, but important differences do exist. Determining which factors best explain these differences remain uncertain. Furthermore, despite a marked increase in the incidence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in women over the last 50 years, the awareness of eating disorders in men remains low. This is in spite of the fact that men represent 10‐20% of cases of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and up to 40% of cases of binge eating disorder. Similarly, recent research has focused on the assumption and stereotype that eating disorders in men are associated with homosexuality, when male body image objectification and body dissatisfaction are also widespread in younger heterosexual men who are being increasingly confronted with the same impossible body image ideals that already challenge women and gay men. The stigma of being a man with an eating disorder continues, and we persist in attempting to fit men with eating disorders into a theoretical and clinical framework largely focused on the physical, psychological, and emotional development of women. This article reviews the literature on eating disorders in men and explores the factors that may explain this gender discrepancy.
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Emma Elizabeth Curry and Panoraia Andriopoulou
The aim of this study is to explore the dual-experiences of AN recovered service providers. Prognoses for anorexia nervosa (AN) and anorexia nervosa-like (AN-like) presenting…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to explore the dual-experiences of AN recovered service providers. Prognoses for anorexia nervosa (AN) and anorexia nervosa-like (AN-like) presenting patients remain poor, and notably, no current treatment approach is reliably successful. Past research into AN has focused on singular experiences, those of either AN patients or those of practitioners providing treatment, but has yet to explore the experiences of recovered AN service users now working as AN service providers.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, four UK-based female participants shared their dual experiences of treatment for AN or AN-like presentations through individual semi-structured interviews. Data collection and analysis were conducted in accordance with an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology.
Findings
Analysis revealed four primary themes, including barriers to accessing services; the impact of treating professionals’ approaches; displacement of responsibility for treating AN; and the value of dual-experience of AN.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on AN and AN-like presentations and does not address the other eating disorders. Additionally, only female-identifying individuals volunteered their participation. As such, this study is notably lacking the voices of individuals of other genders.
Practical implications
Participant narratives suggest that improvements in the treatment of AN lie in improving professionals’ understanding of – and compassion towards – this patient group to optimise the power of the therapeutic relationship across all AN-treating professions.
Social implications
Participants revealed a pervasive misunderstanding of AN among treating professionals that is hindering patients’ treatment and suggested that lived experience can be an asset in a professional context.
Originality/value
Individuals with dual experiences of AN can provide a unique and reflective insight into experiences of treatment through their combined personal and professional expertise and elucidate the experiences that both helped and hindered their own recovery.
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Michael Fay and Christopher Price
It is widely believed that contemporary female fashion and advertisingmodels are thinner than those of the 1950s and it has been suggestedthat the use of thin models in…
Abstract
It is widely believed that contemporary female fashion and advertising models are thinner than those of the 1950s and it has been suggested that the use of thin models in advertisements is causally linked to the increased incidence of anorexia nervosa. Reports on a study to quantify the changes in the body‐shape and weight of female models in New Zealand print advertisements over the period of 1958‐88. The findings confirmed that advertising models became thinner and less curvaceous over the period studied, resulting in contemporary models being approximately 8.5kg lighter than they would be if they had the same body‐shape as models of the early 1960s. To achieve the currently fashionable body‐shape, a young woman of average height would weigh approximately 42kg, which is far below the recommended level for good health. Visually, the changes in body‐shape have been accentuated by changes in pose and camera angle, presenting an image of a body‐shape that is unattainable.
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Jeppe Nicolaisen and Birger Hjørland
The purpose of this research is to examine the practical potentials of Bradford's law in relation to core‐journal identification.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to examine the practical potentials of Bradford's law in relation to core‐journal identification.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature studies and empirical tests (Bradford analyses).
Findings
Literature studies reveal that the concept of “subject” has never been explicitly addressed in relation to Bradford's law. The results of two empirical tests (Bradford analyses) demonstrate that different operationalizations of the concept of “subject” produce quite different lists of core‐journals. Further, an empirical test reveals that Bradford analyses function discriminatorily against minority views.
Practical implications
Bradford analysis can no longer be regarded as an objective and neutral method. The received view on Bradford's law needs to be revised.
Originality/value
The paper questions one of the old dogmas of the field.
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Raquel Guiné, Ana Cristina Ferrão, Manuela Ferreira, Paula Correia, Ana Paula Cardoso, João Duarte, Ivana Rumbak, Abdel-Moneim Shehata, Elena Vittadini and Maria Papageorgiou
This study to investigate several issues related to food choice and consumption patterns in different countries, including health-related factors; economic and availability…
Abstract
Purpose
This study to investigate several issues related to food choice and consumption patterns in different countries, including health-related factors; economic and availability aspects; emotional determinants; social, cultural and religious influences; marketing and advertising campaigns; and finally environmental concerns.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study was based on a questionnaire that was exclusively prepared for the project, and which was applied to collect data in different countries, in particular Croatia, Egypt, Italy, Greece and Portugal, which are typically associated with the Mediterranean diet (MD).
Findings
The results obtained allowed, in general, to conclude that in all five countries the motivations related to health as well as environment and politics were the more relevant to determine people’s eating habits (scores varying from 0.3 to 0.7). Women were more influenced by eating motivations than men, and people with moderate exercise were more susceptible to health and environmental motivations and less to emotional, social or marketing motivations (p < 0.001 in all cases). It was also observed that people who adopted a special diet were more prone to eating motivations and that the emotional motivations were more pronounced in people with eating disorders (p < 0.001). Finally, people without chronic diseases or allergies were even more influenced by health motivations than those who actually suffered from these health problems (p < 0.001 in both cases).
Originality/value
This work is important because of the multinational coverage, thus allowing to evaluate the most relevant factors that influenced the food choices of the populations around the Mediterranean Sea, sharing the common link to the MD. The study allowed concluding that, in general, the food choices were primarily determined by health factors and also by concerns related to the environment and sustainability as well as by political influences.
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Medical and mental health professionals are in general agreement that the occurrence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia has increased dramatically during the past ten years. The…
Abstract
Medical and mental health professionals are in general agreement that the occurrence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia has increased dramatically during the past ten years. The revelation that public figures such as Karen Carpenter and Cherry Boone were victims has demonstrated that these debilitating illnesses occur more frequently than previously supposed. Not only has the number of relevant professional communications in psychology, psychiatry, and medicine multiplied, but popular periodicals, newspapers, and television have brought these psychiatric disorders to the attention of the general public. As a result, wards and clinics specializing in the treatment of eating disorders have opened in cities of even modest size. Support groups for sufferers and their families are becoming more common as the magnitude of these mental health problems is recognized.
Eating disorders are not simply about food — they run much deeper. Although they are predominantly a female complaint, men too are known to suffer. The two prime expressions of…
Abstract
Eating disorders are not simply about food — they run much deeper. Although they are predominantly a female complaint, men too are known to suffer. The two prime expressions of this, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are described and treatments explored. As with many similar personality‐based illnesses, the main thrust to recovery must come from a change of outlook on the part of the individual.
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