Professional and Public Knowledge and Attitudes toward Eating Disorders

Individuals with eating disorders are sometimes stereotyped as blameworthy, or as having a trivial, self-imposed problem, and viewed by professionals as vain, manipulative, or difficult. There are also longstanding views that EDs only affect “thin, affluent, young, white women”, which means that eating problems among higher-weight individuals, older women, males, and minorities may go unrecognized, misinterpreted, or dismissed. Fears of stigma, shame, and self-blame are consistently recognized as obstacles to help-seeking and this limits our ability to identify and effectively treat all who could benefit. This line of research is aimed to bring attention to the attitudes and knowledge of health care professionals and laypersons toward eating disorders to combat stigma. An ongoing study led by Ivan Ejdemyr at Umeå University is underway to explore training and expert advice to new professionals within the ED field in collaboration with Drs. Johanna Levallius, Rasmus Isomaa, and Kjersti Gulliksen.

Contact person Deborah Lynn Reas. 

Publications:

Reas DL, Isomaa R, Solhaug Gulliksen K, Levallius J (2021). Clinicians as a critical link: Understanding health professionals' beliefs and attitudes toward anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Scand J Psychol, 62 (6), 775-779. DOI 0.1111/sjop.12777, PubMed 34569633

Reas DL (2017). Public and Healthcare Professionals' Knowledge and Attitudes toward Binge Eating Disorder: A Narrative Review. Nutrients, 9 (11). DOI 10.3390/nu9111267

Reas DL, Gulliksen KS, Levallius J, Isomaa R (2017). Letter to the editor: health professionals' attitudes toward individuals with eating disorders: who do we think they are?
J Eat Disord, 5, 22. DOI 10.1186/s40337-017-0150-6, PubMed 28725425