Conference turris::womannotes-v1

427.0. "Eating Disorders Bibliography" by MAY20::MINOW (Je suis Marxist, tendance Groucho) Sat Aug 08 1987 17:24

This appeared on Usenet's medical discussion distribution.

From: [email protected] (Miriam Nadel)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Eating Disorders Bibliography
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 6 Aug 87 19:14:57 GMT
Organization: Trailing Edge Technology, Redondo Beach, Ca.
Lines: 220


This bibliography is a modified version of one I posted several months ago
to soc.women.  I've revised my comments and added several books I've read
since then.  I've also added the following code letters:

E = experiential.  These are books which deal primarily with "what it's like
    to be overweight/bulimic/anorectic/etc."

T = theoretical.  This refers to works that deal with psychological theory,
    cultural analysis, history of dieting or medical aspects of compulsive
    eating.  All of them have some case studies (which are experiential)
    but the case studies are not their primary focus.

P = practical.  These fall into two basic categories.  One is the workbook/
    book of exercises/ etc. which is aimed at helping you explore your
    eating behavior and overcome the compulsive aspects of it.  The other is
    not focused on eating at all but deals with the other practical aspects
    of living as a fat person - which range from fashion and makeup advice to
    how to deal with people who nag you about your weight.

R = reservations.  There are some books which I listed but have reservations
    about for various reasons.  I listed them because there are things I think
    are helpful and useful in these books but I've also explained what my
    reservations are.

This bibliography (which includes fiction, magazines and even songs as well
as nonfiction) should not be taken as written in stone.  I'm not a "certified
expert," just someone with an interest in the subject of compulsive eating
because of my experiences with it.  Some of the books I've listed may do
nothing for you while there may be others I haven't listed that will become
great resources.  Send me e-mail regarding any books you think are worthy
inclusions and I'll read them and (possibly) add them to future revisions.
E-mail discussion is always welcome; posting is discouraged because I think
we've already bored everyone else to death on the topic.

Atwood, _The Edible Woman_(E)
    This is a novel but it provides an interesting (feminist) insight into
anorexia.

Atwood, _Lady Oracle_(E)
     Compulsive eaters, especially those who were heavy as children, are bound
to relate to this novel.  I thought it worth reading for the ballet school
episodes alone.

Baker, _The Beauty Trap_(T)
       This book is about "lookism" in general and only about body size
as an aspect of it.  It is well worth reading if you have ever thought
yourself ugly because its thesis is the inclusion of emotional/intellectual
qualities in the definition of beauty.

_Big Beautiful Woman_(P)
      The largest circulation fashion magazine for large women.  Also has
a dating service through its "Friendship Express" sister publication.

Brody, _Jane Brody's Nutrition Book_(P,R)
    Even if you have decided to give up dieting it is nice to have a 
source of information on nutrition.  This one is scientific, not faddish and
accessible.  I do, however, have reservations about the behaviorist bias in
her chapter on weight loss.  My bigger concern is the ease with which people
seem to take an interest in improving their nutrition right back to the
"restrictive dieting" syndrome.

Bruch, _Eating Disorders_(T)
      This is considered one of the psychological classics on eating disorders.
I have it sitting on my desk but have not yet read it so I can't really
comment on it knowledgeably.

Bruch, _The Golden Cage_(T)
       This is Bruch's study of anorexia and is very well regarded by the
scientific community.  However, there has been some criticism of Bruch's
failure to examine the reasons eating disorders are common only among women
in our society.

Chapkis, _Beauty Secrets_(E,T)
       Like Baker's book this is a general examination of lookism and what it
means to have an unconventional appearnace.  The best part is the series of
essays by various women on their appearance.  The photographs are also
excellent, as is the bibliography.

Chernin, _The Obsession_(E,T)
    A lot of this book is experiential rather than theoretical.  It is
somewhat disjointed but there is still a lot of good material on body image
in it.  

Chernin, _The Hungry Self_(T,E)
      This is Chernin's theoretical book.  It suffers a bit from
oversimplification and is not remarkably well-written.  Read Orbach and Roth 
before reading this one or you'll get bogged down.

DuCoffe and Cohen, _Making It Big_(P)
      Primarily beauty tips for large women, there is also advice in here
about dealing with everything from singles bars to small cars to what the
best sexual positions for fat women are.  I have some reservations about the
beauty tips because the authors don't seem to recognize that it is legitimate
to choose to be somewhat sloppy or to not wear makeup, etc.  But it is a good
starting place for a large woman who is interested in being fashionable.

Klingman, _The Secret Lives of Fat People_(E,R)
      I have serious reservations about this book because its stated aim is
to help fat people realize that they are deluding themselves about their
body size and to motivate them to diet.  However, some of the case histories
are of interest and there is enough here that may reduce someone's feelings
of isolation that I included it on the list anyway.  

Lavin, "Cold Pizza for Breakfast" on the album _Future Fossils_(E)
        Christine Lavin explains why Jean Harris killed Herman Tarnower - he
wouldn't let her eat cold pizza for breakfast.  Another relevant song on the
ame album is "Nobody's Fat in Aspen" about which Ms. Lavin has stated that her
theory is that they check out what you look like in stretch pants before letting
you on the plane.

McClernan, _Change Your Mind, Change Your Weight_(P,R)
       The first half of this book deals with choices and how we have to take
responsibility for our own decisions about our bodies.  There's lots of good
stuff in there.  Unfortunately, the second half of the book is nothing more 
than a "natural foods diet" message and such restrictions tend to provoke
nothing but guilt in compulsive eaters.

Millman, _Such a Pretty Face_(E,T)
       This book is about the worlds fat people live in - from NAAFA (The
National Association to Aid Fat Americans) to OA (Overeaters Anonymous) to
weight loss camps.  It examines the differences in how our society treats
fat women and fat men, as well as the issue of "pseudo-obesity."  Excellent
photographs.

O'Neill, _Starving for Attention_(E,R)
       A biography by one of Pat Boone's daughters on her struggles against
anorexia.  My reservations involve her emphasis on Christian fundamentalism 
as a support system in recovery.

Orbach, _Fat Is a Feminist Issue_(T,P)
    This book lays down a lot of the essential theory for a feminist
interpretation of eating disorders.  Reading it is virtually essential
for understanding the issues discussed in most of the rest of these books.

Orbach, _Fat Is a Feminist Issue II_(P)
    This book presents several exercises that can be used to implement the
theory in _Fat is a Feminist Issue_.  It is one of the best sources for
self-help in exploring body image issues.

Polivy and Herman, _Breaking the Diet Habit_(T,P)
      An excellent resource for those concerned with the health aspects of
dieting or not dieting.  It dispels a lot of the myths regarding the dangers
of obesity.  Give this one to your doctor. 

Reilly and Maloney, "Sweet Tooth" on the album _Profiles_(E)
       "I was listening to a show about sugar abuse/ and then I sat down to
a chocolate mousse..."  This song sums up carbohydrate binges better than 
anything else I've heard or read.

Roberts, _Breaking All the Rules_ (E,P)
     The experiential part of this book deals with the author's own history
of compulsive eating and her discovery that she had lowered her metabolism
so much by years of yo-yo dieting that just stopping compulsive eating did
not cause her to lose weight.  This leads into the practical sections, which
are primarily concerned with large size fashion.

Rose, _That First Bite_(E,R)
      This is the journal of a compulsive eater and one can see a lot of the
extremes in her behavior.  My reservations arise from her emphasis on her
spiritual search; it is apparent her problems went a lot deeper than her
eating disorder.  This book also furthered my disagreement with the approach
used by OA (Overeaters Anonymous).

Roth, _Feeding the Hungry Heart_(E)
       This is an experiential book with several short pieces on what being
a compulsive eater is like.  My first reaction to many of the pieces was,
"Well, at least I've never been that extreme" (which I found reassuring).
This book is also remarkable for its humor.

Roth, _Breaking Free From Compulsive Eating_(P,E)
     This is Roth's practical manual and I've found it the most helpful of
the self-help books.  She presents a lot of exercises for exploring
feelings about food and body image.  But she also has lots of practical
advice on dealing with the day to day struggles of self-acceptance.

Schwartz, _Diets Don't Work_(P,T)
      I have some problems with the style of this book, but the content is
sound.  I think working through this book would help most compulsive eaters -
but it will be hard work.

Schwartz, _Never Satisfied_(T,E)
       Hillel Schwartz (not the Schwartz of _Diets Don't Work_, BTW) got
interested in the cultural history of dieting because of his involvement in
dance.  This book is remarkable for the scope of its material, as well as
for its wit.  It is fairly objective and doesn't really evaluate diets
but the overall treatment comes across as a fairly strong condemnation of
most fads in diet.  The extensive notes strongly support the theme of
"what goes around comes around."

Small, "A Song for the Roly Poly People" on _Mothers, Daughters, Wives_ album(E)
      A song full of warmth and humor and guaranteed to make you feel better.
A typical line is "Weight Watchers is owned by Heinz"

Wardell, _Thin Within_(P,T,R)
      Much of the material here is similar to that in _Diets Don't Work_.
However, I am disturbed by Wardell's claim that "you can be any weight you
want to be if you follow her advice.  She neglects a lot of modern physiological
research in order to make such a claim.  In addition, this emphasis allows one
to retain the importance of weight as a "judgement" tool for progress, rather
than freedom from compulsive eating.  Nevertheless many of her exercises are
quite good so I've left this book in.

Woodman, _The Owl Was a Baker's Daughter_(T)
      This book is extremely difficult, mostly because it is so loaded with
Jungian jargon that I had to turn to the glossary every few pages.  I
suspect Wiccans will be very happy with it since it's theme is the need
to discover the Goddess within.  How many psychological texts try to draw
a relationship between binging on carbohydrates and milk products and the
Dionysian mysteries?  The most immediately useful thing in this book is the
list of questions that a therapist should ask thonself before treating an
obese patient.  Anyone seeking therapy for an eating disorder should ask
these questions.

Miriam Nadel
-- 
"Did Beethoven do the dishes? Did Mozart sweep the floors?" - Ginny Reilly
INTERNET:     [email protected]
UUCP:         {hplabs!hp-sdd, sdcsvax, ihnp4, nosc}!crash!gryphon!mhnadel
UUCP:         {philabs, trwrb}!cadovax!gryphon!mhnadel