Eating disorders are one of the most pervasive mental disorders affecting women today. In a study of 47 Iowa women, Professor of Psychology Melinda Green, who has spent the better part of a decade researching eating disorders and their effect on heart health, along with her associates recruited women who were struggling with eating disorder symptoms. Using what is labeled as a dissonance-based eating disorder program, researchers encouraged the women to challenge media messages that tell women, and young girls that only thin is beautiful. Being skeptical of such permeating messages was difficult, but researchers believed it would make a difference. The results were astonishing. The women who participated in this study experienced lower levels of anxiety, fewer negative emotions, showed fewer eating disorder symptoms than before, and with respect to Dr. Green’s previous study the subjects were less likely to be show negative cardiac signs. Dr. Green and her team plan to test these findings on a national and international scale at Tanager Place in nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Key Points:
- 1More people die from eating disorders than any other psychological disorder.
- 2Treatment that encourages women to criticize media messages equating thinness with being beautiful is a promising road to recovery.
- 3Women who criticize media messages promoting thinness show fewer eating disorder symptoms.
The researchers used what’s called a dissonance-based eating disorder program.
Read the full article at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170106125839.htm
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