Eating Disorders

Dr Evan Atlantis, Senior Research Fellow, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University

Dr Evan Atlantis is Senior Research Fellow at Western Sydney University, and Affiliate Senior Lecturer at The University of Adelaide. He is a research leader with over 12 years’ experience in mental health, chronic physical health conditions, and health promotion research based on large observational studies, randomised controlled trials, and systematic reviews. With over 50 publications in quality peer-reviewed journals (35 as first author including two monographs), he is ranked 36 among Australia’s top experts in depression (Expertscape.com, Jan 2017). Evan has been one of several Chief/Investigator recipients of NHMRC and NSW Government grant funding, totalling more than $4.1 million. read more

The 2018 National Eating Disorders and Obesity Conference will be held at Twin Towns Services Club over 27-28 September.

Joining us at this year’s conference is Ms Tania E Murdock, Behavioural Scientist specialising in Emotional Health & Wellbeing at Dispute Management Australia who will present on ‘Addressing the Link between Emotional Health & Eating: How we use Food as a Means to Satisfy our Psychological Needs.’ read more

This time last year, Roxy Jacenko had hit rock bottom.

Receiving a cancer diagnosis while her husband served time behind bars after being sentenced for insider trading, the mother-of-two says her life was completely “out of control”.

But while the world crumbled down around her, the 37-year-old says she was able to keep a tight grasp on one aspect of her life — her body, and her weight.

Dropping to just 49kg at her lowest around Christmas time in 2016, Ms Jacenko says she became obsessed with what went in her mouth, and would even spit out food to avoid the “guilt”. read more

With his Popeye forearms and washboard abs, Thomas Lacombe looks a picture of health.

Yet a tool widely used by government agencies, weight loss companies and insurers for gauging healthy weight suggests Mr Lacombe, a personal trainer and model, is fat.

“I’m not in the healthy weight bracket,” he said. “I’m literally overweight.”

Thomas Lacombe, a personal trainer and former model, has a BMI of 27.2, which puts him in the overweight range. Photo: Janie Barrett read more

The 2017 National Eating Disorders and Obesity Conference is being held at the Mantra on View Hotel, Gold Coast 7 – 8 August.

Ms Jessica Kerin, Psychologist at Griffith University will be joining us this year to present “Resisting the temptation of food: overeating regulation and associations with emotion regulation and mindfulness”.

Jessica Kerin

Objective

The ability to regulate overeating has been recognised as integral to healthy weight management and an alternative approach to dieting in addressing excess weight, yet it has received limited examination. read more

The Sydney Morning Herald

Hold on to your seats, because standing is no better than sitting! Or so reports of a new study, much touted by the media in the past week, suggest.

The study of more than 5000 people over a 16-year period found that sitting is not the new smoking.

Instead, the researchers from the University of Exeter found no major difference between the mortality rates of those who sat and those who stood for similar periods. What made the difference to premature mortality was how much people moved in general. read more

Approximately one million people in Australia are affected by eating disorders and 63% of Australians are overweight or obese.

Have we now developed an obsession with body image because of a fear of obesity?

According to Christine Morgan, CEO of the Butterfly Foundation who appeared on Hack Live on Body Obsession on ABC2 last night, less than 25% of those suffering are seeking treatment for their eating disorders. read more

Climate change is already affecting Australia’s ability to reliably produce quality food.

With climate records being broken on a monthly basis, it’s not much of a stretch to imagine our relatively easy access to fresh produce becoming a thing of the past.

We all know what we should be eating to stay healthy: less fat and sugar, more fresh fruit, veggies and lean protein.

Eating sustainably isn’t all that different. We could stop eating so many of the cows that burp and fart methane into the atmosphere and try to eat more locally sourced, plant-based produce. The meat and dairy industries are a leading cause of global warming. read more

In medical terminology, overweight is a condition where a person’s body mass index (BMI) falls between 25 and 30 while a person with a BMI of 30 or more is termed as obese. Morbid obesity is the condition where a person’s weight interferes with the normal functioning of their body.

Obesity in Australia is one of the biggest public health challenges facing the population. More than half of the adult population has a body weight that poses serious health risks. More than 60% of Australian adults are obese and almost 10% are severely obese. At least a quarter of Australian children and adolescents are obese or overweight. read more