‘Manorexia’ – Male Eating Disorders On The Rise

Doctors have cautioned that the struggle to appear like male models is pushing more men to have serious eating disorders dubbed as manorexia.

Medical experts think the surge is because of an obsession to look good by flaunting bulging biceps & six-pack abs as depicted by male models.

According to the British health service (NHS), over the past decade there was a 66% rise in UK hospital admissions for male eating disorders.

The rise may be attributed to the pressure to acquire the ideal body shape.

Manorexia sufferers can obsess over their weight or exercise and the amount of calories they are consuming.

Exercise is a key factor with male eating disorders. They become fanatical about working out every single day, and it could take over their lives completely without them ever realizing there might be a more deep-rooted motive behind it.

That’s when it develops into an eating disorder.

Bulimia affects thrice as many people as anorexia, but it’s more difficult to identify as the sufferer might not shed weight in the same way.

NHS believes doctors have to recognize the fact that men are prone to suffering eating disorders just like women. And this could allow GPs to identify the symptoms earlier.

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Eating for Two during Pregnancy Affects Baby’s Health

Pregnant women who eat too much increase the risk of their babies developing eating disorders, low IQ, behavioral problems & mental health conditions like schizophrenia.

Since long, doctors have known that overweight pregnant women are at increased risk of suffering blood clots. However, the long-term effects of overeating during pregnancy on a baby’s health were not fully understood.

But recent research has found proof that overweight women or those who gain excessive weight when pregnant may be harming their kid’s development.

Children of obese mums are inclined to have IQ scores 5 points lower than kids born to normal weight mothers, according to US researchers.

Swedish studies revealed that children of overweight mothers tended to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorders.

Meanwhile, an Australian study has found that a child’s probability of developing an eating disorder went up by 11% for each point their mum’s body mass index went up during pregnancy.

A Japanese study found every additional BMI point added in the early stage of pregnancy raised the offspring’s risk of developing schizophrenia later on by 24%.

Researchers are of the opinion that hormonal & chemical changes could explain the findings.

Obesity in pregnancy raises the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, blood clots, still-births and miscarriages, while layers of fat could mean serious defects may be overlooked in scans.

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Brain Alters After Child Abuse

Childhood abuse may change the brain and, hence, increases the possibility of teenage depression. Child abuse victims are likely to have altered brain chemistry & stunted stress responses.

Adolescents who experienced abusive behavior – emotional, physical or sexual – in childhood release more of cortisol, the stress hormone, than others in response to mild psychological stressors like solving a tough arithmetic test or giving a speech.

Cortisol destroys cells in the areas of the human brain that govern memory & emotion regulation. In due course of time, there may an accumulation of cortisol levels, thereby heightening an individual’s risk for more acute endocrine impairment & more severe depression.

This shows that environmental stress during childhood alters brain functioning in ways that might cause or maintain acute psychiatric disorders like depression.

 

 

Five Minutes Autism Screen Test in 1-year-olds

It takes just 5 minutes to detect autism in 1-year-olds according to U.S researchers.

The developmental disorder starts in childhood and continues throughout adulthood, but is seldom identified till kids are older.

The autism screen test asks parents several questions like ‘Does your child laugh or smile while looking at you?’ The survey asks twenty-four questions that determine babies’ movement, eye focus and sounds, among other things.

This study helps children to go in for early treatment than they otherwise would. Besides, parents who got their children screened were more attentive to their kid’s development, and it also helped prepare them for some potentially bad news.

Autism, a mysterious and complex brain disorder is characterized by difficulties in communication, social interaction and comprehending other people’s behavior and emotions.

It’s usually first detected in early childhood, roughly around 3yrs, and recent studies demonstrate that the earlier the kids are diagnosed & enter therapy, the better they perform.

Some autistic people may lead a relatively independent life but others with accompanying learning disabilities may require specialist support for life.

Early detection and therapy positively impacts the child’s developing brain.

The survey developed by Amy M. Wetherby & Barry M. Prizant includes the following categories & questions.

 Emotion and Eye Gaze

Do you know when your child is happy and when your child is upset?

When your child plays with toys, does he/she look at you to see if you are watching?

Does your child smile or laugh while looking at you?

When you look at and point to a toy across the room, does your child look at it?

Communication

Does your child let you know that he/she needs help or wants an object out of reach?

When you are not paying attention to your child, does he/she try to get your attention?

Does your child do things to get you to laugh?

Does your child try to get you to notice interesting objects — just to get you to look at the objects, not to get you to do anything with them?

Gestures

Does your child pick up objects and give them to you?

Does your child show objects to you without giving you the object?

Does your child wave to greet people?

Does your child point to objects?

Does your child nod his/her head to indicate yes?

Sounds

Does your child use sounds or words to get attention or help?

Does your child string sounds together, such as uh oh, mama, gaga, bye-bye, bada?

About how many of the following consonant sounds does your child use? Ma, na, ba, da, ga, wa, la, ya, sa, sha?

 Words

About how many words does your child use meaningfully that you recognize (such as baba for bottle; gaggie for doggie)?

Does your child put two words together (for example, more cookie, bye-bye Daddy)?

Understanding

When you call your child’s name, does he/she respond by looking or coming toward you?

About how many different words or phrases does your child understand without gestures? For example, if you say, “Where’s your tummy,” “where’s Daddy,” “Give me the ball” or “Come here,” without showing or pointing, will your child respond appropriately?

Object Use

Does your child show interest in playing with a variety of objects?

About how many of the following objects does your child use appropriately: cup, bottle, bowl, spoon, comb or brush, toothbrush, washcloth, boy, toy vehicle, toy telephone?

About how many blocks (or rings) does your child stack?

Does your child pretend to play with toys (for example, feed a stuffed animal, put a doll to sleep, put an animal figure in a vehicle?

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Even Mild Psychological Distress Leads To Long-Term Disability

According to a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, even mild psychological distress can add up over time and may lead to long-term disability.

Researchers found that higher the psychological stress levels, the higher the possibility that people would require disability pension awards within 5 years.

What was even more striking was that people having even mild stress (who are considered as having sound mental health) had a higher risk – nearly 70% – of receiving those benefits due to stress-linked physical or psychiatric problems.

In the study involving 17,000 people between the ages 18-64, 649 people were awarded disability benefits – 203 for stress-linked mental health problems & the remaining for physical illness.

1 in 4 benefits for physical ill-health, such as angina, stroke and high blood pressure, and almost 2/3rd for mental illness were attributed to stress.

These findings come as a wake-up call to pay attention to your personal mental well-being & find effective ways to deal with stress.