Disordered Eating

Many people have complicated relationships with food. Some overeat; others crash diet. This month, Health Dialogues explores what experts call "disordered eating." We look at the causes and effects of abnormal eating patterns, from the less severe to classic eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

Lydia Gustav-Werthen (credit: Shuka Kalantari)

Intervention: Dealing with Disordered Eating

We start with 16-year-old Lydia Gustav-Werthen, as she shares her battle with anorexia nervosa. Lydia was hospitalized five times, before she beat the illness. Host Scott Shafer then discusses how to deal with cases like Lydia, with two experts from a program aimed at understanding eating disorders. Guest: Dr. James Lock, MD, psychiatric director of the Comprehensive Eating Disorders Program at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Guest: Dr. Seth Ammerman, MD, clinical professor at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Reporter: Shuka Kalantari

• More: Eating disorders research at Stanford : offering free care in return for participation in clinical trials
• More: Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
• More: The Comprehensive Eating Disorders Program : at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
• More: National Eating Disorders Association

Jamie Lieber (credit: Shuka Kalantari)

Binge Eating

Binge eating is a behavior that goes far beyond occasional over-indulgence. So much so that the chair of the Eating Disorders Work Group at the American Psychiatric Association has recommended a formal diagnosis for binge-eating disorder. Reporter: Kelley Weiss

Hannah (credit: Christal Smith)

When Healthy Eating Becomes Unhealthy

The obsession with healthy eating is referred to by some experts as "orthorexia." When taken to extremes, it can cause serious health problems. Reporter: Christal Smith

Daisy Ceh (credit: Sarah Varney)

Body Image and Weight Misperception

People with eating disorders often have a distorted view of what they look like. Despite being unhealthily thin, they may think they are overweight. But researchers are also finding that many people who are actually overweight - even obese - don't see themselves that way. Reporter: Sarah Varney

Preventing Eating Disorders

Host Scott Shafer speaks with two people who work tirelessly to raise awareness about eating disorders and to prevent them from developing in the first place. Guest: Elizabeth Scott, psychotherapist and co-founder of The Body Positive, a non-profit organization that trains teens and college students as activists to prevent eating disorders. Guest: Ramses Munoz, community health coordinator for Huckleberry Youth Programs, a non-profit providing health care, therapy, case management, education and counseling to Bay Area youth.

• More: Huckleberry Youth Programs
• More: The Body Positive