February 13, 2014
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmUnderstanding the Brain May Help Explain Eating Disorders [Video]
People with anorexia and other eating disorders have aberrant brain responses to food
By Daisy Yuhas
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More than 10 million Americans will suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, treating anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating and other disorders is extremely challenging. As journalist Shannon Firth details in the March/April issue of Scientific American MIND, some researchers argue that to overcome these disorders, we must look more closely at the brain’s role in these conditions, specifically how its misfiring may lead to inappropriate responses to food. Physician Laura Hill of The Center for Balanced Living in Columbus, Ohio, is among these advocates, and in this TEDx video she walks through how a person with anorexia responds to food differently on a biological level.
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