Source 1 Critical Evaluation : The effects of restaurant menu calorie labeling on hypothetical meal choices of females with disordered eating.
1. Hypothesis: As weight epidemics continue to rise in number, many restaurants have attempted to make themselves more appealing to health conscious individuals, or to simply help inform people about their eating choices. In order to help people, restaurants have started listing the amount of calories in each order or item. The hopes behind this is that the obesity epidemic may slow down. However, some people have pointed concerns about listing calories on menus. For individuals with eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder, listing the specific calories could do more harm than good. The hypothesis among the researchers who wrote in the journal for International Eating Disorders is that listing the calories for specific foods, or meals on a menu will increase the amount of calories consumed by women with a binge eating disorder and it will decrease the amount of calories consumed by females who have anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.
2. Procedure: 716 females over the age of 18 were given menus that could have the calories listed or missing. They were then asked to select what they would hypothetically choose if they were to have a meal from the menu given to them. Along with this, they would answer various questions about their behaviors and attitudes when in a place that served food or when they were ordering food. After, they were asked to fill out a self-reporting questionnaire written by Fairburn and Beglin to assess the severity of any possible eating disorders. There are two versions of this questionnaire, EDE-A, and EDE-Q, for this research study, the EDE-Q questionnaire was used to identify the severity of eating disorders among the individual participants.
3. What were the results? Were the hypotheses confirmed? The results, across varying models, both supported and did not support the hypothesis. Overall, after using corrections, there was a correlation found between anorexia or bulimia nervosa and ordering fewer calories. Various models were used to analyze the information gathered. In the first model, there was no correlation between ‘menu conditions’ (meaning calories listed) and disordered eating. However, after using the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure, it was found that there was some degree of correlation, thus supporting the hypothesis. Additionally, it was found that females who suffered from BED would tend to order significantly higher calories when presented with a menu containing the calories listed.
Source 2: Prenatal and Perinatal Factors in Eating Disorders: A Descriptive Review
1. Describe the hypothesis. In this review of studies, the hypothesis was that the way a mother eats food, the hormones she produces, and the environmental factors she is exposed to will have some sort of affect on her babies development. Further than this, it is predicted that certain factors can be measured and used to almost ‘calculate’ the possibility of the child eventually developing an eating disorder, specifically under the category of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. As stated in the article, the prenatal factors will influence the unborn childs neurology and psychological development.
2. Briefly describe the procedure. The procedure involved the gathering and comprehensive review of various studies that discussed the relationship between a mother and the prenatal or perinatal factors that would influence her child to have the likelihood of developing either anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Throughout the studies of these articles, it was noted that there was significantly less research done with the correlation between prenatal factors and the predictability of bulimia nervosa.
3. What were the results? Were the hypotheses confirmed? Overall, the hypothesis were confirmed, the various states of the mothers wellbeing and various exposures to outside influences or even a change of hormone levels could and does indicate a higher risk of a child developing anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. However, most of the research was directed to anorexia nervosa. Many of the results had to do with the levels of testosterone the developing fetus was exposed to. High levels of testosterone, specifically in males, correlated with healthy, and voracious appetites, while in females, it was shown that low levels of testosterone could be used to predict a low level of food consumption. As far as the mothers physical health, it was found that things such as hypoxia, preeclampsia, and under-eating would show an increased risk of the child developing an eating disorder as opposed to a pregnant female without these conditions.
Source 3: Course and Predictors of Maternal Eating Disorders in the Postpartum Period
1. Describe the hypothesis. The hypothesis was more of a general research question for this very interesting study. The hypothesis was that mothers who would have a pre pregnancy tendency or diagnosis for anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, or EDNOS-P (eating disorder not otherwise specified with a purging component) would relapse or continue to suffer at a point after, or during, their delivery; it has been observed that many times the mother will make an effort to eat according to a doctors guidelines during the pregnancy in hopes for a healthy baby. However, this being said, many struggle severely with the changes that occur with pregnancy and the eating disorder can cause damage to the unborn child. There was also a desire to measure the levels of which the eating disorder would become more severe if such a case happened.
2. Briefly describe the procedure. Who were the participants? What did the participants do in the study? The participants of this study, done over a 9 year period, were gathered and volunteered from various areas of Norway. Overall, the participants totaled 77,807, pregnant, qualifying, Norwegian females. However, many of the women became disqualified for various reasons throughout the study. Participants filled out various agreement and consent forms and then were scheduled for regular ultrasounds, blood samples, and questionnaires. The participants had to be between their 17th and 18th week of being pregnant in order to participate in the study. Testing of the blood was done at the beginning of the study (from both parents) and at birth (baby and mother). Questionnaires and tests to observe the eating disorders and their severity were also done routinely.
3. What were the results? Were the hypotheses confirmed? The hypothesis was confirmed that women who struggled with disordered eating would continue to have, or would have a returning occurrence of an eating disorder while or after being pregnant. The surprising result was that out of all the groups, the ones that showed the most psychological distress and an increase in poor body image was those women who struggled with BED. It was found that women with bulimia nervosa would typically continue to struggle with BN throughout the pregnancy and that the pregnancy would actually increase the risk of struggling. Those with anorexia nervosa made up a much smaller percentage of the studies population, however, the study found a high correlation between having a higher postpartum bmi and severe psychological distress and poor body image.
Source 4: Negative Reinforcement Eating Expectancies, Emotion Dysregulation, and Symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa
1. Describe the hypothesis. The hypothesis was based off of the idea that those who either have or exhibit symptoms of bulimia nervosa have been found to have poor methods of regulating their emotions. However, it has not been researched if these specific mental attitudes are in direct causation with the risk or diagnoses of bulimia nervosa or if it is just a coincidental correlation. It was proposed that certain beliefs about the self, and more specifically the relationship with food and what food can provide for a person can be an indicator of a strong risk of developing disordered eating or it can be used to calculate the likelihood that the person has bulimia nervosa. The study also assessed the link between bulimia nervosa and an emotional disorder known as alexithymia.
2. Briefly describe the procedure. Who were the participants? What did the participants do in the study? Participants in this study were solely female students, making up a total of 115. They had reported, through their undergraduate psychology class surveys, varying levels of bulimia nervosa, and mood regulating disorders, such as alexithymia, or experiential avoidance. Along with this they reported their relationship with food and their expectations related to eating. Within this study, participants were only expected to self report honestly.
3. What were the results? Were the hypotheses confirmed? The results showed that there was a strong causation/correlation effect between the severity of the participants eating disorder and the severity of their poor emotional regulation skills, along with alexithymia. The biggest finding out of all was that those who felt that food would give them an emotional relief would be at a higher risk of an eating disorder, specifically bulimia nervosa.
Source 5: Stability of Eating Disorder Diagnostic Classifications in Adolescents: Five-Year Longitudinal Findings From a Population-Based Study
1. Describe the hypothesis. The hypothesis was that over time, an eating disorder will have an unstable course. Those with mild cases of disordered eating will have a increase in severity. Those who have severe, diagnosed eating disorders, will continue to exhibit the same symptoms over the following years, however, it can be lessened through therapy or exhaustion. It was also hypothesised that those who remain symptomatic with body image disturbance or with disordered eating behaviours that do not yet meet an eating disorder diagnoses could still have symptoms but the symptoms will almost have always changed in severity; usually these scores will predict an eating disorder developing within the next 5 years.
2. Briefly describe the procedure. Who were the participants? What did the participants do in the study? This was a follow-up study after a five year research following 3,672 youth from Minnesota who were pre-adolescent and just barely reaching teenhood. The participants in this study were those who had shown disturbed eating behaviors, a concern with weight (and other weight related issues), usually the youth who were diagnosed would fit under the diagnoses of EDNOS. The participants were asked to commit to regular surveys that were self-reports of behaviors towards eating and actions. After the primary survey, those who did not fit the specific criteria were disqualified from the research. These reports were reviewed by those leading the research.
3. What were the results? Were the hypotheses confirmed? Over all, the hypotheses did not even begin to imagine the extreme results that were found through this study. The hypothesis was correct, eating disorders, over time, do increase in severity. However, an unexpected component was the discovery that a high percentage of those who had only expressed concerns with body image had developed an eating disorder by the time the second survey was sent out (“Time 2”). Along with this it was found that those who had a borderline condition or were asymptomatic were found to have an increase in disordered eating. The biggest takeaway from this study is that immediate intervention is the key when it comes to preventing/ solving eating disorders in youth.