Eating Disorder News: OCD Teenagers, Adults With Anorexia & Men With Eating Disorders

This week in eating disorder news we discuss the rise of eating disorders in middle age women; a research study that found a link between obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and eating disorders in teenagers; and the large number of teenage boys and young males with eating disorders that are commonly overlooked.

This week in Eating Disorder News:

More Women Having Midlife Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are most commonly attributed to younger teens or women in their 20s. However, more and more women in their 30s, 40s and 50s are also suffering with their own body image. This NBC special interviews a woman and her life long struggle with her eating disorder. What started as personal discipline as a teen, soon turned into bulimia. Watch her story here and see how she overcame her body image issues.

SLaM Finds Link Between OCD and Eating Disorders in Teenagers

Recent research done in the UK has shown that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a risk factor for developing an eating disorder during adolescence. Research showed that amongst children and adolescents who had obsessive compulsive disorder more than one in ten had developed an eating disorder in later life, higher than what would be expected among the general population. Check out the full article here to read more.

Weight, Eating Disorders Not Exclusive to Women

Eating disorders are generally thought of as problems for women. However, what many people seem to overlook is that eating disorders also affect a large number of males as well. This article from the Columbus Dispatch tells the story of a teenager Michael Whitehead. When he was 16 years old he became tired of being made fun of for being overweight. This caused him to drastically change his diet and exercise up to 3 hours a day. Dropping more than 100lbs in 6 months he was diagnosed with anorexia. Read his story here and see how he’s managed to recover and get back to a healthy weight.