Giving pizza, cookies or chocolate to young people with eating disorders would reduce their anxiety about food.
- “The causes of eating disorders are generally thought to be a combination of biological predisposition and the environment.”
- For eight weeks, 54 adolescents, aged around 14, participated in a partial hospitalization program for eating disorders.
- After eating foods they feared, the young volunteers saw their level of anxiety about food decrease.
In France, eating disorders (ED) are frequent pathologies, according to the Foundation for Medical Research. Anorexia nervosa affects between 0.9 and 1.5% of women and 0.2 to 0.3% of men. As for bulimia, it affects about 1.5% of 11 to 20 year olds. Binge eating affects 3-5% of the population. Most often, it is adolescents and young adults who are particularly vulnerable.
TCA: “a combination of biological predisposition and the environment”
“The causes of eating disorders are generally thought to be a combination of biological predisposition and the environment. For example, a predisposition to anxiety or perfectionism and being criticized for one’s height or weight can both increase the risk of developing an eating disorder,” said Jamal Essayli, professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and behavioral health at Pennsylvania State University (USA), in a statement.
Exposing children to foods they demonize
Recently, his team tested the effectiveness of “exposure therapy” in patients with eating disorders. As part of a study, she recruited 54 teenagers, aged about 14, who participated in a program of partial hospitalization for eating disorders. The latter took place five days a week for eight weeks.
Every day, doctors exposed patients to a food that “scared” them. For example, the young volunteers received a chocolate bar on Monday, a pastry or a biscuit on Tuesday, a pizza on Wednesday, a dessert on Thursday and pancakes on Friday. Before and after eating the “dreaded” food, participants were asked to indicate their level of anxiety.
TCA: less anxiety about food
According to the results, published in the journal International Journal of Eating Disorders, patients’ levels of anxiety about food decreased over time. According to the authors, weight gain predicted “greater addiction” to dreaded foods between sessions.
“Many of these patients were underweight or suffering from weight loss and were very anxious about eating these foods. It was important for them to learn that there is nothing horrible eating pizza and ice cream at a party, for example (…) Our results argue for the integration of food exposure into short-term hospitalization programs for adolescents with mental disorders. diet and who are gaining weight”, explained Jamal Essayli.