Decoding Anorexia: How Breakthroughs in Science Offer Hope for Eating Disorders

by Arnold; Carrie

• ISBN13: 9780415898669
• ISBN10: 0415898668
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-09-27
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Decoding Anorexiais the first and only book to explain anorexia nervosa from a biological point of view. Long thought to be a psychosocial disease of fickle teens, a revolution in genetics and neuroscience over the past few years has dramatically altered the way anorexia is understood and treated, transforming anorexia into an illness, not a choice. In this text Carrie Arnold, a professional science writer, addresses what causes anorexia and what models (parents and diets) have to do with it, the characteristics of people at highest risk for developing anorexia nervosa, why anorexics find starvation "rewarding," why denial is such a salient feature and how sufferers can overcome it. She also addresses practical information that all sufferers and their families need to know, such as what to do when an insurance company won't cover treatment for anorexia, and how parents can be part of the solution.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. viii
Introduction: Off the Couch and Into the Brain	p. 1
From Starving Saints to Dieting Divas	p. 7
Interoception and the Insula	p. 22
Climbing the Family Tree	p. 38
Anorexia's Poster Children	p. 53
When Anorexia Brings Friends	p. 69
Starvation Becomes Obsession	p. 83
Adapted to Flee Famine	p. 98
Gym Rats	p. 115
Stepping Up to the (Dinner) Plate	p. 131
Oops, I Did It Again …	p. 146
Standing at the Buffet of Life	p. 160
References	p. 174
Index	p. 197
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