An increasing proportion of human food consumption appears to be driven by pleasure, not just by the need for calories. In addition to its effects on body mass and health, the food environment in affluent societies may be creating an appetitive counterpart to the psychological effects of other hedonically-driven activities such as drug use and compulsive gambling. This phenomenon is referred to...

OBJECTIVE Obsession and compulsions in anorexia nervosa (AN) patients are often confused with the preoccupations and rituals that are characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We examined the type and frequency of characteristic OCD obsessions and compulsions in a large sample of AN patients. METHOD In personal interviews with 324 AN patients, we assessed lifetime histories of ea...

BACKGROUND Despite the theoretical links between eating disorders and perfectionism, the definition of perfectionism in practice is complicated. The present study explored descriptions and experiences of perfectionism described by a transdiagnostic sample of patients. METHODS In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 patients. The interviews were analyzed by Thematic Analy...

Current Opinion in Gastroenterology 2010, 26:165–169 Purpose of review Food addiction has been implicated as a putative causal factor in chronic overeating, binge eating, and obesity. The concept of food addiction has been controversial historically due to definitional and conceptual difficulties and to a lack of rigorous scientific data. Recent findings Support for the food addiction hypothesi...

Some individuals may have an addictive-like response to certain foods, possibly contributing to problematic eating. Highly processed foods, with added fats and/or refined carbohydrates, are suggested to be most associated with addictive-like eating. The incentive sensitization theory suggests that wanting (e.g. craving) may drive compulsive drug use rather than liking (e.g. enjoyment), but it i...

Compulsive buying has received increased research attention in the last decade. This study explores the relationship between compulsive buying and reactive and regulative temperament while controlling for depression and materialism. One hundred and thirty female psychology students filled out the Compulsive Buying Scale, the Behavioral Inhibition/Activation Scales, and the Effortful Control Sca...

OBJECTIVE There is a wide literature suggesting abnormal mother-daughter and familial attachment patterns in individuals with eating disorders. We surmised that this insecurity would extend to adult attachment relationships. METHODS The Reciprocal Attachment Questionnaire (RAQ) was administered to all inpatients and outpatients at a tertiary referral eating disorders unit over a given period ...

This report is based on the interesting clinical case study of a teenage based in India with long standing history of ingesting nonnutritive materials. She was initially non-selective, but later began more exclusively consuming mud obtained from a wall in the back yard of her house on regular basis. She suffered from a eating disorder known as pica. The DSM-IV defines pica as a form of feeding ...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET) among an adult sample of patients with eating disorders. METHOD Three hundred and fifty six patients and 360 non-clinical control women completed the CET and the Eating Disorders Examination questionnaire (EDE-Q). RESULTS A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the clinical data s...