Retrospective maternal report of early eating behaviours in anorexia nervosa.

This exploratory study assessed whether maternal recall of childhood feeding and eating practices differed across anorexia nervosa (AN) subtypes. Participants were 325 women from the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa study whose mothers completed a childhood feeding and eating questionnaire. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to predict AN subtype from measures related to childhood eating: (i) infant feeding (breastfed, feeding schedule, age of solid food introduction), (ii) childhood picky eating (picky eating before age 1 year and between ages one and five) and (iii) infant gastrointestinal problems (vomiting and colic).

Genetic variance of body mass index from childhood to early adulthood.

Research has been conducted to determine genetic and environmental components of body mass index (BMI). The portion of phenotypic correlation attributed to genetic, and environmental effects, the effects of puberty stage on BMI means and variances, and consistency of parent/twin report remain largely unknown. The current study seeks to address these questions using four waves of data from 1480 twin pairs in the Swedish Twin Registry: Swedish Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development.

Generalized anxiety disorder and anorexia nervosa: evidence of shared genetic variation.

Background: Previous studies have indicated a high prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in women with anorexia nervosa (AN). However, the shared genetic and environmental components of these disorders have not been explored. This study seeks to elucidate the shared genetic and environmental components between GAD and AN.

Anorexia nervosa and generalized anxiety disorder: further explorations of the relation between anxiety and body mass index.

We explore comorbidity of anorexia nervosa (AN) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and their relation with body mass index (BMI) and evaluate the presence of fasting and excessive exercise which both have anxiolytic and weight loss effects. All participants were female: 32 with AN only, 607 with GAD only, 22 with AN and GAD (AN+GAD), and 5424 with no history of AN or GAD (referent) from the Swedish Twin study of Adults: Genes and Environment (STAGE). Lowest adult BMI differed significantly (p<.

Diet and physical activity in women recovered from anorexia nervosa: a pilot study.

Objective: After recovery, women with anorexia nervosa (AN) tend to maintain lower body mass indices (BMI) than women in the general population. Reasons for this are unknown as little is known about diet, food choices, physical activity levels (PAL), and reasons for exercise in women recovered from AN.

Method: Diet, reasons for food choice, PAL, and reasons for exercise were measured in an exploratory study of 15 women recovered from AN and 22 women with no eating disorder history.

Dietary supplement use immediately before and during pregnancy in Norwegian women with eating disorders.

Objective: Many pregnant women use dietary supplements. Little is known about dietary supplement use during pregnancy in women with eating disorders.

Method: We examined dietary supplement use in 37,307 pregnant women, from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study.

Impact of broadening definitions of anorexia nervosa on sample characteristics.

Practical limitations and sample size considerations often lead to broadening of diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN) in research. The current study sought to elucidate the effects of this practice on resultant sample characteristics in terms of eating disorder behaviors, psychiatric comorbidities, temperament and personality characteristics, and heritability point estimates. Three definitions of AN were created: meeting all Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) criteria for AN (AN-DSM-IV), meeting all DSM-IV criteria except criterion D, amenorrhea, (AN-noD), and broadening DSM-IV AN criteria by allowing a higher body mass index value, eliminating criterion D, and allowing less stringent body weight concerns (AN-Broad).

Price changes alone are not adequate to produce long-term dietary change.

Taxation has been proposed as a means to reduce consumption of unhealthy food items. However, it is unknown if taxation without regulations or other activities known to shift eating behaviors lead to long-term dietary change. This unexplored issue is examined using data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey.

A prevalence study and description of alli use by patients with eating disorders.

Objective: This study examined the frequency and characteristics of alli use among patients in eating disorder treatment facilities.

Method: Patients from five treatment centers completed the Survey of Eating and Related Behaviors. Diagnoses were determined from survey responses.

Childhood anxiety associated with low BMI in women with anorexia nervosa.

Objective: Extremely low body mass index (BMI) values are associated with increased risk for death and poor long-term prognosis in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN). The present study explores childhood personality characteristics that could be associated with the ability to attain an extremely low BMI.

Methods: Participants were 326 women from the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa (GAN) Study who completed the Structured Interview for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimic Syndromes and whose mother completed the Child Behavioral Checklist and/or Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey.

Validity of resting energy expenditure estimated by an activity monitor compared to indirect calorimetry.

The use of activity monitors (triaxial accelerometers) to estimate total energy expenditure in kilocalories is dependent on the estimation of resting energy expenditure (REE). However, the REE estimated by activity monitors has not been validated against more precise techniques, such as indirect calorimetry (IC). Therefore, the objective of the present study was to compare REE estimated by the Actical activity monitor (ActMon) to that measured by IC and standard prediction equations of REE.

Energy metabolism and body composition in long-term recovery from anorexia nervosa.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if energy metabolism and body composition differ between women recovered from anorexia nervosa for 2 or more years (RAN) and control (C) women.

Method: Using a cross-sectional design, 16 RAN and 18 C women were studied. Respiratory quotient (RQ) and resting energy expenditure (REE) were measured using indirect calorimetry and body composition using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Prevalence of obesity and overweight among urban adults in Bulgaria.

Objective: The prevalence of obesity is increasing in transitional countries, but extensive data on some countries, such as Bulgaria, are still lacking. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity, relative to gender and income, among adults in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Design: Cross-sectional survey to collect data on diet, health, BMI and income using a brief questionnaire on diet and income.

Economic transition and household food consumption: a study of Bulgaria from 1985 to 2002.

Major economic transitions typically entail changes in the availability of and purchasing power for different types of foods leading to long-term changes in the composition of the diet. Bulgaria, a former Eastern Bloc country, underwent a difficult and protracted transition from a centralized to market economy with acute economic crises and a much slower recovery of income levels than in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Using annual data from the Bulgarian National Household Survey, we study changes in the reported consumption of major foods (excluding alcoholic drinks) and their constituent macronutrients from 1985 to 2002, examining also the differences in dietary patterns between the period prior to and following the transition.