Teen anorexia or bulimia prevalence discussion

Teen anorexia or bulimia prevalence discussion

Teen anorexia or bulimia prevalence discussion

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12.1 Digestion, Energy Storage, and Energy Utilization

12.2 Theories of Hunger and Eating: Set Points versus Positive Incentives

12.3 Factors That Determine What, When, and How Much We Eat

12.4 Physiological Research on Hunger and Satiety

12.5 Body Weight Regulation: Set Points versus Settling Points

12.6 Human Obesity: Causes, Mechanisms, and Treatments

12.7 Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa

12 ISB N0-558-78571-9

Biopsychology, Eighth Edition, by John P.J. Pinel. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.

source of serious personal and health problems. Most eating-related health problems in industrialized nations are associated with eating too much—the average American consumes 3,800 calories per day, about twice the average daily requirement (see Kopelman, 2000). For example, it is estimated that 65% of the adult U.S. popu- lation is either overweight or clinically obese, qualifyingthis problem for epidemic status (see Abelson & Kennedy, 2004; Arnold, 2009). The resulting financial and personal costs are huge. Each year in the United States, about $100 billion is spent treating obesity-related disorders (see Ol- shansky et al., 2005). Moreover, each year, an estimated 300,000 U.S. citizens die from disorders caused by their excessive eating (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, cardiovas- cular diseases, and some cancers). Although the United States is the trend-setter when it comes to overeating and obesity, many other countries are not far behind (Sofsian, 2007). Ironically, as overeating and obesity have reached epidemic proportions, there has been a related increase in disorders associated with eating too little (see Polivy & Herman, 2002). For example, almost 3% of American adolescents currently suffer from anorexia or bulimia, which can be life-threatening in extreme cases.

The massive increases in obesity and other eating- related disorders that have occurred over the last few decades in many countries stand in direct opposition to most people’s thinking about hunger and eating. Many people—and I assume that this includes you—believe that hunger and eating are normally triggered when the body’s energy resources fall below a prescribed optimal level, or set point. They appreciate that many factors influence hunger and eating, but they assume that the hunger and eating system has evolved to supply the body with just the right amount of energy.

This chapter explores the incompatibility of the set- point assumption with the current epidemic of eating disorders. If we all have hunger and eating systems … Teen anorexia or bulimia prevalence discussion