Posts Tagged ‘diet and weight loss’

Following our earlier article on a Brigham Young University pilot study suggesting that an approach toward food called “intuitive eating” is better than restrictive diets for producing lower cholesterol levels, body mass index scores and cardiovascular disease risk, we’ve augmented our research library with more than a dozen new resources on the topic — ranging from self-help books on intuitive eating to controlled studies on the psychology of eating.

Counting calories isn’t the best way to lose weight, according to a new Brigham Young University pilot study suggesting that an approach toward food called “intuitive eating” is better than restrictive diets for producing lower cholesterol levels, body mass index scores and cardiovascular disease risk.

Two studies outline dangers of mixing stress, deprivation and tempting foods. The studies show that when animals are stressed, deprived and exposed to tempting food, they overeat, with different degrees of interaction. The powerful interplay between internal and external factors helps explain why dieters rebound and even one cookie can trigger a binge if someone’s predisposed to binge. The results may help even non-stressed people to avoid overeating, keep their weight down and improve their health.

New research sheds further light on the role of brain chemistry in anorexia nervosa, indicating that disturbances in the way the brain uses serotonin may persist long after recovery from one type of anorexia.

Increased chemical activity in a part of the brain involved in reward and reinforcement may help shed light on the question of why anorexia sufferers feel driven to lose weight but don’t get any pleasure from it. New research with anorexia sufferers using brain-imaging technology found overactivity of dopamine receptors in a part of the brain known as the basal ganglia. Around 1 percent of women in the US suffer from anorexia, a disorder that can also affect men.