It's all in the brain - why girls are prone to anorexia

[HuckleB]

It's all in the brain - why girls are prone to anorexia

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=15040179&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=it-s-all-in-the-brain---why-girls-are-prone-to-anorexia-name_page.html

"SCIENCE rather than vanity is the reason why women are more likely than men to be hurt and insulted by comments about their weight. Japanese researchers may have made an important breakthrough in understanding why eating disorders are 10 times more common in women than men.

They have discovered each sex uses a different part of the brain to process unpleasant words concerning body image.

Women use an area which warns of threats by recognising signs of fear. The findings suggests that negative words associated with body image are received as "fearful information". It is not yet understood why they find the words fearful.

Both sexes found the words equally unpleasant, but while men processed them cognitively, women did so more emotionally.

..."

[ExclamationPoint]

1. Interesting, very interesting

I think another point that should be made is that women get more unpleasent comments about the way they look then men do, whether directly or indirectly.

[HuckleB]

2. Same story covered by BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4144755.stm

[Maple]

3. Cultural fad

Recent...very recent...in history.

[freeplessinseattle]

5. a "Fad"??? Not at all. & not recent, unless a century + ago is recent nt

[HuckleB]

8. Biochemical Correlates of Anorexia and Bulimia

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro99/web1/Hellew.html

[HuckleB]

9. Causes of Eating Disorders

http://www.queendom.com/articles/womenshealth/eatcauses.html

[HuckleB]

10. Are Eating Disorders New?

http://www.addictions.net/default.aspx?id=15

[freeplessinseattle]

4. wow, that is fascinating, I know so much of ED's are biological, this

helps support the theory even more, thank you. Very interesting to ponder on. makes a lot of sense. the wonders of science, very cool!

but what the hell does this mean??:

"Although there are vastly more women than men suffering from conditions such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, Maureen Fyffe of Cyswllt Ceredigion Contact said it was wrong to think that only females suffered from eating disorders.

She said, "How many men do you see who are very overweight? There are a lot of people out there who have an eating disorder."

so...she's saying that male eating disorders are compulsive overeating? what about the many men who have anorexia or bulimia? she sounds like she knows very little about eating disorders! wow.

[HuckleB]

7. I don't think that we can conclude that she thinks that...

based on a simple, likely partial, quote in an article.

[freeplessinseattle]

11. yeah, if she said more including the other ed's, then the writer is at

fault and ignorant as all get-out!

[Wright Patman]

6. The conclusion itself

can be attacked (and no doubt will be) on the grounds that it stereotypes women as being overly "emotional."