Chapter 9: Eating Disorders

hypothalamus

A part of the brain that helps maintain various bodily functions, including eating and hunger.

Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)

A brain region that depresses hunger when activated.

lateral hypothalamus (LH)

A brain region that produces hunger when activated.

Binge-eating disorder

A disorder marked by frequent binges but not extreme compensatory behaviors

Bulimia Nervosa

A disorder marked by frequent eating binges that are followed by forced vomiting or other extreme compensatory behaviors to avoid gaining weight. Also known as binge-purge syndrome

Anorexia Nervosa

A disorder marked by the pursuit of extreme thinness and by an extreme loss of weight.

enmeshed family pattern

A family system in which members are overinvolved with each other's affairs and overconcerned about each other's welfare.

multidimensional risk perspective

A theory that identifies several kinds of risk factors that are thought to combine to help cause a disorder. The more factors present, the greater the risk of developing the disorder

14 and 20 years

Although the disorder can appear at any age, the peak age of onset is between

Binge

An episode of uncontrollable eating during which a person ingests a very large quantity of food

2 and 7 percent

Between __________ of the population have binge-eating disorder

females

Ninety to 95 percent of all cases of anorexia nervosa occur in

exposure and response prevention

The _____ approach to eating disorders involves exposing patients to situations that raise their anxiety and then preventing them from performing their typical compulsive responses

Amenorrhea

The absence of menstrual cycles.

weight set point

The weight level that a person is predisposed to maintain, controlled in part by the hypothalamus

two-thirds

around ___________ of people with binge-eating disorder become overweight or even obese

90-95 percent

bulimia nervosa usually occurs in females, again in ______________________ of the cases