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No description available.

Eating disorders affect an estimated 1 million Canadians per year and have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses (Statistics Canada, 2016; Arcelus, Mitchell, & Wales, 2011). Research suggests that those who fall under the transgender umbrella are at a higher risk for developing mental health concerns, and more specifically disordered eating practices (Dhejne, Vlerken, Heylens, & Arcelus, 2016). Despite this the existing literature on this population is lacking, with little research going outside of the gender binary. Majority of the existing literature is limited in looking at individual case studies seeking to prove that transgender folks can struggle with disordered eating, rather than bring attention to the experiences of transgender individuals within eating disorder treatment and recovery. The purpose of this study was to expand on the current literature by bringing in the voices of lived experience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals, over the age of 18, who identify their gender as falling under the transgender umbrella who have participated in a form of eating disorder recovery for a minimum of one year. Through a thematic analysis, commonalities were uncovered between the participants stories leading to the identification of five themes: the connection between gender identity and eating disorder development, the impact of LGBTQ+ beauty standards, discrimination within the healthcare system, the use of the internet, and the role of community in recovery. The findings suggest there is a strong connection between transgender identity and the development of eating disorder behaviours that create an experience vastly different than the cisgendered reality in which the treatment programs are based. To address these differences the participants provided guidance towards recommendation for practitioners and treatment including: mandated training on both transgender identities and eating disorders, the development of supportive and inclusive environments, the creation of a transgender specific eating disorder treatment program. Further, topics for future research to deepen the understanding of the experiences shared within the study included: impact of online eating disorder support for trans and non-binary individuals, the variance in experience between binary transgender and non-binary identities within treatment, and the impacts of race and ethnicity on the experiences of transgender individuals. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Obese individuals, especially those who are morbidly obese, are more likely to binge-eat and to have Disinhibition, as measured by the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire of Stunkard and Messick (1985). The latter characterises very opportunistic eating behaviour and signifies a readiness to eat. We argue in this chapter that binge eating and Disinhibition are deeply adaptive as mechanisms for dealing with one of the most fundamental of insecurities, that of food, especially in seasonal and unpredictable environments. It is only in recent decades, with improved food security in industrialized nations and the emergence of obesity at the population level, that they have become maladaptive in terms of health outcomes, and have been medically pathologized. Binge-eating and Disinhibition are no longer responses to uncertainty in food availability has they would have been in the evolutionary past. Rather, there may be other types of uncertainty and insecurity that lead to Disinhibition, binge-eating and obesity, and clinical practice should perhaps turn to examining these as higher-level factors that structure health and illness. These would include stress at work and in everyday life

The studies in this thesis aimed to develop and characterise a rodent model of meal feeding that would mimic aspects of human eating behaviour, leading to the overconsumption of calories and ultimately to obesity. In seeking to identify potential mechanisms that might be involved in the initiation of meals, a palatable scheduled feeding regime was utilised to induce a substantial food intake over short periods of time in rodents. This was done by providing scheduled access to a palatable diet for a 2h-period each day without imposed caloric restriction during the remainder of the day. Initially, the effects of different palatable diets were examined. Three of the four palatable diets resulted in a rapid adaptation of feeding behaviour and induced the consumption of large, binge-type meals in both Sprague Dawley rats and C57BL/6 mice. Candidate gene expression analysis by in-situ hybridisation during the two hour period leading up to scheduled feeding suggested that homeostatic neuropeptide systems in the hypothalamus did not have a major role in driving the consumption of these meals. Further characterisation of the scheduled feeding model revealed that palatable scheduled feeding does not lead to a relative hypophagic phase or an increase in pre-meal secreted gut hormones in anticipation of the scheduled meals. Interestingly, schedule-fed animals exhibited food anticipatory activity during the same period. In addition, scheduled-fed animals displayed only a mild obese phenotype but their metabolic health was adversely affected. Again using in-situ hybridisation, candidate gene expression was assessed during the scheduled feeding period itself, revealing a relationship with adiposity level but not with immediate feeding behaviour. Finally, in a ‘hypothesis-free' approach, gene expression was analysed by microarray at the point of initiation of scheduled feeding, with no apparent changes in gene expression levels. In conclusion, palatable scheduled feeding in mice and rats induces large, binge-type meals that appear not to be directly regulated by homeostatic neuropeptides in the hypothalamus. Investigations into forebrain candidate gene expression by in-situ hybridisation suggested that measuring mRNA levels might not be the optimal analytical approach to demonstrate an involvement of the reward-related signalling system. Alternative strategies for identifying meal feeding mechanisms in the palatable scheduled feeding model could focus on approaches such as neurotransmitter release.

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Previous researchers have proposed that Multi-impulsive Bulimia (MIB), a constellation of self-destructive impulsive behaviours including theft, self-harm, suicide attempts, sexual disinhibition, and substance use, may be a distinct sub-type of Bulimia Nervosa (BN). Prior to this study, the validity of MIB as a subtype of BN had not been empirically examined. In the current study, taxometric procedures were used to address the question of whether MIB represents a distinct subtype or occurs on one or more continua. Participants were women (N = 419) diagnosed with BN seeking treatment at a residential eating disorders facility. Taxometric procedures used were mean above below minus a cut, maximum covariance, and latent mode analyses. Indicators were bulimic behaviours (bingeing and purging), theft, suicide attempts, self-harm and alcohol use. Analyses included comparisons with simulated taxonic and dimensional data. Results were inconsistent across analyses, perhaps due to problems with indicator validity. However there was some evidence of taxonicity.

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No description available.