Eating disorders are among the most complex disorders to treat, typically requiring medical, nutritional, and psychotherapeutic interventions. High relapse rates and the sense of urgency to save lives and minimize or prevent lifelong problems present challenges for even the most seasoned treatment providers. In an engaging, clear, and concise manner, Eating Disorders in Special Populations: Medical, Nutritional, and Psychological Treatments prepares physicians, dietitians, and psychotherapists to navigate the labyrinth they enter with eating disordered patients. Aggregating a vast amount of information and perspectives in a clear and concise format, readers will gain insight into the minds on both sides of the treatment room. From leading experts in the field, readers will learn how dietitians, physicians, and psychotherapists conceptualize and treat people with eating disorders, and treatment providers will discover the nuanced etiologies of eating disorder symptoms in a range of diverse populations. Increase your cultural competency and expand your practice by learning how eating disorders are created, maintained, and resolved. Join us in bringing light, health, and hope to our patients and to our colleagues across disciplines.

Recognition of the importance of the role of family factors to eating disorders dates back to 1873 when Lasegue highlighted the importance of family in the explanation of anorexia nervosa. A positive relationship between family dysfunction and disordered eating has been routinely cited in the literature; however, there are many studies that have been published in which family dysfunction is related to other psychiatric disorders as well (Fairburn et al., 1997). Thus, there is an emerging need to examine specific factors of the family that are associated with disordered eating. A significant relationship between maternal commentary about weight and shape and disordered eating among daughters has been cited in the literature (Annus et al., 2007). Family functioning and negative paternal commentary regarding body shape and eating have been associated with increased disordered eating and have been shown to fully mediate the relationship between family dysfunction and disordered eating. In addition to maternal commentary, influence from peers to be thin has also been found to be significantly related to eating disorders among females. Furthermore, peer influence has emerged as a stronger predictor of eating disorder symptoms among college women compared to family influence (van den Berg et al., 2002). Thus, it appears important to assess peer influence when examining eating pathology among college women. To date, numerous studies regarding disordered eating have been conducted among Caucasian women; however, the cultural make-up of college student populations is increasingly becoming more diverse (Snyder et al., 2005), underscoring the importance of examining predictors of eating disorder symptomatology among women from diverse racial and ethnic groups. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to examine the relation of general family functioning, negative maternal commentary regarding body shape and eating, and peer influence among Hispanic and Caucasian college women. The research questions are as follows: (1) To what extent does negative maternal commentary about body shape and eating mediate the relationship between general family functioning to behavioral and attitudinal eating disorder symptoms among Hispanic and Caucasian college women? (2) What is the relative contribution of peers and mothers' messages regarding body shape and eating to Hispanic and Caucasian college women's behavioral and attitudinal eating disorder symptoms? (3) Does peer influence moderate the relationship of mother's commentary about weight and body shape to behavioral and attitudinal eating disorder symptoms? The sample will consist of approximately 300 Caucasian and Hispanic undergraduate women for the University of Houston. Students will be recruited through sororities and through university courses. Participants will complete a demographic questionnaire, the Family Assessment Device (measure of family functioning), the Eating Disorder Examination - Questionnaire (measure of eating disorder attitudinal symptoms and behavioral symptoms), the Peer Influence Scale (measure of cues from peers to obtain or attain a thin body shape), the Family Experiences Related to Food Questionnaire - Mother (measure of maternal commentary about body shape and weight), and the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican-Americans II (measure of acculturation to western culture). Four series of regression analyses will be conducted to assess the extent to which the relationship between family functioning and eating disorder attitudinal and behavioral symptoms is mediated by maternal commentary among Caucasian and Hispanic college women. Two additional hierarchical regression analyses will be conducted to examine the combined and unique contribution of negative maternal commentary and peer influence to eating disorder attitudinal and behavioral symptoms as well as the extent to which peer influence moderates the relationship between maternal commentary and eating disorder attitudinal and behavioral symptoms among Caucasian and Hispanic college women.

This groundbreaking two-volume handbook provides a comprehensive collection of evidence-based analyses of the causes, treatment, and prevention of eating disorders. A two-volume handbook featuring contributions from an international group of experts, and edited by two of the leading authorities on eating disorders and body image research Presents comprehensive coverage of eating disorders, including their history, etiological factors, diagnosis, assessment, prevention, and treatment Tackles controversies and previously unanswered questions in the field Includes coverage of DSM-5 and suggestions for further research at the end of each chapter 2 Volumes

Clinical Handbook of Complex and Atypical Eating Disorders brings together into one comprehensive resource what is known about an array of complicating factors for patients with ED, serving as an accessible introduction to each of the comorbidities and symptom presentations highlighted in the volume.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.