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Eating Disorders

A Guide to Finding Government Information

Web version of this guide includes links to web resources.

Search Tips:

Mix and match these terms in searching the library catalog, WestCat , or use them to search journal articles and law reviews via the library's Databases page. You can also use them to search government information sites listed on our Starting Points page - click the tab and pay particular attention to the Top Six.

  • eating disorders
  • anorexia
  • bulimia
  • sexual abuse
  • malnutrition
  • mental illness
  • body dysmorphic disorder
  • diabulimia
  • binge eating
  • obesity
  • overexercising
  • suicide

Related Topics:
  • body image
  • adolescence

An important source for many research topics is Congress. Congressional committees and subcommittees hold hearings on a wide variety of controversial and timely subjects. Simply add the word "hearing?" to a search string in WestCat .

Search Engines

Google and StartPage
Use these search engines to search for government information by typing "site:gov" in the search box preceding your search terms:

  • site:gov "eating disorders"
  • site:mil bulimia
Federal Government Information
Eating Disorders and Obesity

This booklet provides a good overview of the link between obesity and eating disorders in teen girls and offers some general recommendations. 2005
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS100470

Binge Eating Disorder

This short guide focuses on binge eating disorder, its complications, and how to help sufferers. 2008
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS112785

BodyWise Handbook: Eating Disorders Information for Middle School Personnel

This monograph describes the various eating disorders as well as the difference between "eating disorders" and "disordered eating." Early detection for prevention of undernourishment and related health complications is the major focus. 2000
http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS38729

Body Image: Eating Disorders

This topic page links to articles, organizations, and fact sheets.
http://www.womenshealth.gov/body-image/eating-disorders/

Eating Disorders

This guide from the National Institute of Mental Health offers a detailed look at treatment options for the various eating disorders and discusses ongoing research.
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders/eating-disorders.pdf

Eating Disorders (Nutrition.gov)

This topic page from the USDA links to information from federal health agencies.
http://www.nutrition.gov/nutrition-and-health-issues/eating-disorders

Girl Power! Community Education Kit

This program is geared toward 9 to 14 year old girls; its focus is on supporting self-esteem and good decision-making skills. This kit has everything you need to start a Girl Power! program in your community. 2000
HE 20.402:G 44/4/KIT

Legal Information
A Time to Heal: Eliminating Barriers to Coverage for Patients with Eating Disorders Under the Affordable Care Act

This article highlights the problems with getting insurance companies to cover mental health treatment for eating disorders, and offers a solution. 2013
31 Law & Ineq. 411, via Nexis Uni

"All Illnesses Are (Not) Created Equal: Reforming Federal Mental Health Insurance Law"

This article advocates eliminating the disparity between insurance coverage for physical and mental illnesses, reasoning that treating them differently incentivizes delaying treatment until the mental illness turns into a physical problem, such as medical treatment for suicide attempts. 2012
49 Harv. J. on Legis. 1, via Nexis Uni

"Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Retoucher: Why Photoshopped Magazine Images Require Regulation"

Looking at the effects of fashion and celebrity photography on impressionable young females - such as body image and self-esteem problems that often result in eating disorders, the author argues for regulating the alteration of photographs used in magazines and advertisements. 2011
33 Women's Rts. L. Rep. 82, via Nexis Uni

"Dying to Be a Supermodel: Can Requiring a Healthy BMI Be Fashionable?"

This article advocates regulating the Body Mass Index for the modeling industry, both for the health of the models - several of whom have died from anorexia-induced organ failure - and to give teen and pre-teen girls realistic beauty standards. 2009
26 J. Contemp. Health L. & Pol'y 49, via Nexis Uni

"A Plan for Recovery: Steps to Finally Provide Adequate Insurance Coverage for Those Starving for It the Most"

This article, an in-depth study of health insurance coverage as it relates to eating disorders, charts a path to better coverage for both medical and psychiatric treatment. 2010
15 Roger Williams U. L. Rev. 583, via Nexis Uni

http://www.wiu.edu/libraries/govpubs/guides/eatingDisorders.php

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