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To Eat or Not to Eat

Jessika Tromp

PSY 240

April 24, 2011

Lynn Beideck
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˜y name is Jessika. I work as an eating disorder counseling specialist. I am here today to

talk with you about two types of eating disorders, obesity and anorexia nervosa. In our talk

today, I would like to be able to give you a fresh perspective on food, hunger, and satiety in

hopes that it may benefit those of you who live with these disorders.

Obesity is the term used when a person has maintained a body mass index (B˜I) of 30 or

higher. Obesity carries with it many health risks. These risks include: hypertension, Type 2

diabetes, coronary heart disease, bone health problems, and many other health complications and

illnesses.

The disorder known as anorexia nervosa is a mental illness. This term is used for

individuals who refuse to keep their weight within 85% of the standard weight for their age and

height. Sufferers of anorexia express deep anxiety about gaining any weight; in addition, their

body image is grossly distorted. These individual¶s refuse to eat and often combine their self

deprivation with eating binges they follow with willful purging. They state that they do this to

maintain what they view as an acceptable weight. This illness is very severe and is often life

threatening. It can result in heart failure, kidney failure, and damage to the brain.

Both anorexia and obesity are studied extensively. Several new theories have brought

new light to the treatment of these conditions. We will also discuss several hunger and satiety

myths as well as facts about the development and maintenance of these disorders. We will have a

chance for questions and answers in the later part of the program.

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There are a wide variety of theories that strive to address why we choose to eat or not to
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eat. Hunger and satiety have biopsychosocial factors that are detailed in theories relating to

obesity and anorexia.

Evolutionarily, we can see that periods occurred in which inconsistencies existed in our

food supplies. These may have contributed to obesity as a part of our genetic predispositions as a

means of storing food when it was available so that those calories would be available to us later

for our use when food supplies became inadequate. This relates also to the desire to eat great

quantities of high calorie foods. Consumption of high calorie foods leads to fat storage of that

food¶s energy. We also know that we require at least 3 solid meals daily to maintain our normal

weight. This social connection to normality can be carried forward into social interactions that

take place when consuming foods that are more palatable due to high fat content or high sugar

content. This carries forward into our understanding of our motivations for eating, being at odds

with our need to control our weight so that we do not become obese.

Such factors do influence our eating patterns. Additional factors play into the choices that

we make that may conflict with our ability to maintain a healthy and ideal body weight for

ourselves. Calories are burned during exercise. If we do not balance our caloric intake well with

our exercise levels we will not be in balance. People also have different rates of basal

metabolism, this affects their individual ability to burn or store fat. Thermogenesis, which is a

non-exercise activity, also is relevant to this discussion, energy is dissipated in thermogenesis.

Studies in Biopsychology reveal that we do not eat due to the need to fuel the body, but

eat because of our learned, programmed responses. Social norms and thoughts about eating and

eating habits lend credence to these studies. Studies show that people eat larger quantities in

social settings than they do when they are alone. This factor alone would be a significant
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contributor to obesity if we actually correlate socializing with food.

Satiety has been shown to be related to the types of food we eat, we need certain nutrients

and minerals. Candy does not include these nutrients and minerals, and so our bodies do not feel

µsatisfied¶ or full when we eat them. ˜eals that are healthy and do contain the proper mix of

nutrients and minerals yield a more complete satiety. Certain foods contain more of the nutrients

required to allow us to actually feel full, so it is easier for us to eat more of foods that are actually

less satisfying.

Anorexia involves some of the same issues of social factors that influence our views of

acceptable healthy weight and eating. The propensity to eat in social situations can be skewed in

the opposite direction for some individuals. They can be so insecure that they do not meet their

body¶s needs due to their feelings about others¶ perceptions of their eating behaviors. In addition,

the individual suffering from anorexia does not have a healthy ideal of their body¶s appearance

and they allow this image to extend into their perception of how others will accept or reject them.

Anorexia involves an all consuming fear of weight gain and the individual exhibits

starvation habits of eating or alternate binge and purge cycles of eating. These patterns are

learned eating behaviors. Binging is an aspect of anorexia that can help us to see how hunger and

satiety are related to mind over matter. The mind is overtaking the body¶s need for nutrition in

this disease. This is exhibited in the purge response after eating. The binge is meeting the body¶s

need, but the purge is answering to the corrupted ideal as the individual sees it, so satiety no

longer has a positive value.

The onset and progression of anorexia is individual in its nature. External factors

contribute to the development and progression of this disease but the most common onset factor
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is dieting. Dieting is generally undertaken in response to socially perceived and abnormal

expectations. In anorexia, there seems to be a connection between weight gain and food intake

that defies the positive motivation that is normally connected to satiety and healthy eating habits.

The value of the food incentive is lost in the negative contribution of feelings for weight control.

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In this talk today we have reviewed a number of myths and facts relating to these two

diseases. What questions do you have about anorexia or obesity?

Question 1: I want to know if my parents¶ obesity is the cause of my own obesity.

Answer: Your parents¶ obesity may have given you a genetic predisposition that affects your

ability to maintain an ideal weight, but this is not the only factor that makes you obese. The

Biopsychosocial theory gives us the evidence to understand that you have the power to control

your own weight in a healthy way. You can learn to retrain yourself with regard to your

expectations and eating behaviors. This will give you greater satiety and a healthier prognosis.

Exercise is also a critical factor in controlling your weight. A proper, regular practice can help

you to burn calories. The combination of proper intake and proper exercise can give you a

healthy weight. Overeating is not the response to need, but is a continuance of values and habits

about food that are not healthy.

Question 2: I eat the same foods and amounts as my girlfriend, but she does not gain weight and

I do. What makes this happen?

Answer: This would be because her basal metabolism and yours differ significantly. She has a

higher rate allowing her to digest foods more efficiently. Consumption is not the only factor in
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weight gain. You have to look at your own physical activity levels as well.

Question 3: ˜y family feels that I have become anorexic in response to my exposure to

women¶s images as portrayed in magazines and on TV. This may be true, but I do not have any

cravings for food. Why would that be so?

Answer: It can be true that you initially learned to connect extreme thinness with success. You

chose to work toward that slanted ideal. Your dieting then contributed to this skewed viewpoint

when you were able to lose weight in the beginning of your new eating patterns. You may have

found yourself more µbeautiful¶ due to the exposure to such idealized images and then failed to

recognize later the health problems that this began to cause for you.

I would attribute the feeling that you do not crave food at all to the negative value this

skewed view placed on food. You look at food as a negative element in your life since you

connect it only with weight gain instead of with nurture and health. It holds no incentive value

for you anymore. Retraining your mind and body require you to nurture your body with healthy

foods and exercise. It is possible to re-establish healthy eating patterns that can give you back

your desire for and enjoyment of food.

Question 4: I feel sick each time I eat, so I have taken to not eating. Can you tell me why this is?

Answer: I think this also relates to incentive values of food. You may have taught yourself that

food will make you gain an unhealthy amount of weight and now you connect food with only

negative things. If you begin by eating foods that you know are healthy for you in the context of

a plan of regular, balanced meals, you can begin to learn food as a positive thing again. Eating

healthy foods and staying away from high sugar and high fat foods is a way to let your body
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respond positively to what you eat. If your focus is on weight control rather than on health, you

will be punishing your body for eating even healthy things.


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References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). þ




 Retrieved on

April 24, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/

National Alliance on ˜ental Illness. (2008).  


 

   Retrieved on April 24,

2011, from http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&template=/Conte

nt˜anagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7409

Pinel, J.P. (2007).   . Boston: Pearson Education.