Dr. Linda Mintle

Author: Dr. Linda

  • Risk Factors for Eating Disorders

    What causes eating disorders? This simple question has a complex answer. Families are mystified as to what makes a 16 year-old jeopardize her health. Friends are disgusted by the vomiting sounds heard in college dorm room bathrooms. Husbands are baffled by their wives seeming inability to love themselves. Why do women and men abuse their bodies with food?

    An estimated 11 million people in Western society are afflicted. So, what are the risk factors for developing eating disorders? Researchers search for answers.

    There is no one thing that predicts whether someone will submit to the bondage of these disorders. What we do know is that the causes are multiple, interactive and complex. No one factor stands alone. Keeping that in mind and knowing we don’t have definitive answers, here are some of the risk factors thought to lead to the predisposition and development of an eating disorder:

    ·History of a mood disorder (increased risk for bulimia) or family history of mood disorder

    ·Traumatic life events

    ·Genetics:  Eating disorders do tend to run in families. Usually females are most affected. This may suggest that some people are predisposed to these disorders, but it certainly doesn’t eliminate the role other factors play. Research is currently being conducted looking carefully at the role of genetics. Heritable factors may be involved in the development of an eating disorder. However causation is difficult to determine given other contributing factors.

    ·Family history of substance abuse may increase the risk for bulimia

    ·Odd family eating habits and strong concern about appearance and weight may translate to family members

    ·Dissatisfaction with body and desire to be thin

    ·Dieting appears to be an entrée to an eating disorder.

    ·Normal development events such as the onset of puberty, leaving home, the beginning of a new relationship, particularly with the opposite sex.

    ·Repeated negative comments on appearance

    ·Emphasis on thinness among upper and middle class women and female adolescents

    ·Positive family history of eating disorders coupled with dieting

    ·Personality traits: For anorexia the risks include affective over control and intolerance, lack of self-direction and personal effectiveness, and difficulty adapting to developmental tasks. There is some evidence for the contribution of affective instability and poor impulse control in developing bulimia.

  • The Social Stigma of Obesity

    “She’s fat.” “He’s fat.” “You’re fat!” “I’m so fat.” How many times have we heard or said these phrases in our lifetime?

    America’s obese are subject to tremendous psychological burdens. Obesity may be a medical state but people create the psychological burden associated with it. Often, the pain involves self-hatred that can lead to depression and anxiety, social isolation and alienation.

    There is unbelievable social bias toward the obese. Obese people are stereotyped and often viewed as ugly, lazy, unwanted, unhealthy, weak-willed, uncontrolled, etc. If you are obese, you are less likely to marry and more likely to fall in social class. You are likely to be discriminated against concerning jobs, college entrance and be stereotyped by your physician. Basically you are stigmatized by an unsympathetic society; we’re “allowed” to discriminate against you. Fat jokes abound.  But what does it mean medically to be obese?

    Obesity is an excess of body fat. Little agreement exists on just when body fat and weight become a health issue. (Opinions range anywhere from 5% to 30% above ideal weight.) And to make matters worse, a variety of tables are used to measure ideal weights.  Researchers use the body mass index (BMI) as a measure of body fat and health risk. BMI is weight in kilograms per height in meters. The National Center for Health Statistics defines overweight as a BMI of 27.3 in women and 27.8 in men. Obesity is a BMI of 30 and over. Obesity is referred to as a public health issue because of the associated medical complications leading to morbidity and mortality.

    Obesity is not a psychological condition. It’s a medical condition that has multiple causes, consequences, and treatments. However, obesity can cause or be caused by psychosocial problems. So to ignore these issues is irresponsible.

    Moreover, the stigma against obese people must be attacked. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance is one advocacy group trying to do this. Other programs focus efforts on recognizing the stigma, preparing obese people to respond to it, and repairing the damage to self-esteem.

    The next time you are tempted to make fun of someone obese, think about the incredible complexity of his condition and your role in reducing social stigma. You don’t know an obese person’s life story or unique medical make-up. You don’t know how much he may struggle to be accepted.  Stop judging and adding insult to injury. People need to be encouraged to make better choices, not ridiculed. Weight loss is hard work . So next time you see someone overweight, be kind and know that plenty of people will give them a hard time. You do not need to be one of them.

  • Losing Pounds or Your Money?

    Sandy is typical of someone trying to lose weight. When she opens her medicine closet, weight loss products abound. There is a cream to rub on the thighs to make cellulite disappear. So far, not much has disappeared. Three herbal products promise to make fat melt away. Nothing has melted yet. There are more creams, more vitamins, more supplements. I had to ask how much Sandy paid for all this stuff. She didn’t know, but at an average price of $20.00 a product, the money was significant.

    Sandy is not a stupid woman but she hates being overweight. Always hoping the next product will make good on its weight loss claims, she willingly lays out the cash. Now she has a closet full of weight loss products and hasn’t lost a pound. She’s frustrated and feels misled by false claims.

    Closets like Sandy’s exist all over America. Yes, people are ultimately responsible for buying weight loss products, but the weight loss industry needs to regulate itself much more than it does.

    Partnership for Healthy Weight Management is a group comprised of people from industry, public advocacy organizations, government agencies, scientific associations and academia. Its mission is to provide sound guidelines for achieving and maintaining healthy weight. It, like other groups, has published voluntary guidelines designed to help consumers compare products and services.

    The former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher said, “…with the profusion of products and services available to assist them [consumers] in these efforts [weight loss], consumers must be adequately informed of what realistic results, risks and costs they can expect from using these products and services.” The problem is that consumers are not always informed.

    A coalition of the Partnership wants mainstream media to demand proof of advertising claims before they accept ad copy. The intent of this and other similar strategies is to create media responsibility. Nice idea, but the dollars speak louder than voluntary responsibility. Call me cynical, but I have little faith that media will do the right thing.

    Look to consumer advocacy groups for information. You might find what you need to make an informed decision. However, there are still a number of products claiming to do what they ultimately can’t. My advice is to steer clear of the “it’s too good to be true” products because they probably are. Instead, find hospital-based, university-linked programs that have a commitment to scientific discovery and data. Follow the research before you jump on a bandwagon. Otherwise, you’ll have end up like Sandy with a closet full of wishful thinking.

  • Say NO to Cultural Pressure to be Thin

    It’s that dreaded moment. You slip off your shoes (that’s at least two pounds), your jacket (another pound), your watch (few ounces) and step on the scales. You don’t want to look because you know you are retaining water. Besides, the doctor scales are always off a good five pounds. Then, the nurse loudly announces the number as if it’s no big deal. You wish it wasn’t but it is!

    No matter how emotionally healthy we are, we still obsess about our weight. What woman doesn’t want to lose another five pounds?  How many of us lie about weight on our driver’s license? Weight matters, especially to women. In fact, 75% of us think we are too fat.

    Few of us look like the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models yet we spend billions of dollars on weight loss products and magical cures for obesity. Why are we so consumed with dieting? One reason is the media. We are bombarded by images of glamor and beauty constantly-TV, movies, magazines, and advertisements. Even standing in line at the grocery store, we stare at tabloids promising to melt the fat from our thighs like wax.

    With all our emphasis on thinness, 34 million Americans are overweight and 11 million suffer from eating disorders. The average American woman is five feet four inches tall, 144 pounds and a size 12. Compare that to the average model, five feet eight inches tall, 110 pounds and a size two. When you look at the model and then in the mirror, it’s easy to be depressed.

    The cultural pressure to be thin is so intense that nine-year-old girls are dieting and teen plastic surgery is on the rise. Thousands of dollars are spent on shaping, cutting, stapling and lopping off parts of the female body. Girls and women are highly influenced by media images and the media knows this.

    So how can you resist the million-dollar brainwash of the media all around you?

    Become outraged. Speak up about the negative effects media has on women and girls. Write letters to editors of magazines and tell them we’ve had enough.

    · Remember media pictures are often airbrushed and computer altered.

    · Listen to your daughters as they talk about their bodies and unrealistically compare them to the Barbies in their rooms. Correct their thinking to a healthier view of the female body.

    · Refuse to be a part of  the cultural obsession with thinness by complaining about your looks, comparing your body to glamour types and constantly dieting. It is one thing to take care of your body and another to obsess about looks.

    · Stop waiting to be thin. Work on the total person now.

    · Recognize that true beauty is inward, not a manufactured facade. God looks at the heart. Our bodies are mere temples that will pass away some day.

    · Don’t fall in love with products that promise you happiness. Only a relationship with God brings true happiness. There is no magic product or pill.

    · Expose yourself and your daughter to healthy images of women and girls.

    · Determine to be healthy. Focus on good eating habits and nutrition.

  • Dying to Be Thin

    Most women hate their bodies. Compared to women who grace magazine covers, books, CDs, movies, TV… well there is no comparison! The average model is 5’8”, wears a size 2 and weighs 110 pounds. This hardly approximates the average American women at 5’4”, size 12 and 144 pounds. For all our feminist protest, we still define ourselves by our bodies. Thin is in but hard to achieve. The desire to be thin is one reason why the diet industry is fueled by billions of dollars.

    We’ve been duped by a media strategy that vilifies fat people and convinces girls at the age of nine that they need to diet. The media’s role is huge but the media have partners–the food, diet, fashion, beauty and health care-industries. All dangle the thin carrot. We swallow it, even if it means possible death.

    Something has to change. Someone needs to protest. All of us need to stop spending money on magical cures that promise the moon and deliver nothing. This is getting dangerous.  People are being hurt.

    Kim found herself using her last bit of savings to go on yet another fad diet. This diet was expensive and beyond her budget. I was moved by the desperation in Kim. Despite her repeated failure on several other programs and the depletion of her savings, she was willing to try again. My advice to Kim was stop dieting. She didn’t need the debt or another failure.

    Kim isn’t alone. It’s time for all of us to stop dying to be thin! Check the statistics of any diet claim. If there are no statistics, be suspicious and don’t spend your money. Understand the risks involved with any diet aid or product. Consumers drive the market. If you stop buying the products, businesses will stop manufacturing them. Check with consumer advocacy groups who review these products and services. Let’s stop the mindless collusion with our culture’s idolatry of the body.