Eating Disorders and Overweight/Obesity in Veterans: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Treatment Considerations
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PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES (V DRAPEAU AND V IVEZAJ, SECTION EDITORS)
Eating Disorders and Overweight/Obesity in Veterans: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Treatment Considerations Kristy Cuthbert 1,2 & Sabrina Hardin 2 & Rachel Zelkowitz 2 & Karen Mitchell 2,3
# This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply 2020
Abstract Purpose of Review Eating disorders (EDs) and overweight/obesity (OW/OB) have a significant impact on veterans. This review highlights current research on EDs and OW/OB in this population. Recent Findings Prevalence estimates for both EDs and OW/OB among veterans remain consistent with and possibly higher than those in the general population. Both diagnoses share multiple risk factors, including trauma history, and mental health comorbidities. Although weight loss treatments have been fairly well studied among veteran samples, there are no published investigations on psychotherapies for EDs in this population. The Veterans Healthcare Administration is working to train providers in ED treatments. VHA treatments for OW/OB show some benefits and areas for improvement. Summary Areas for future research include structured assessments for EDs and disordered eating behaviors in veterans to clarify prevalence estimates. There is a need for interventions that consider common mechanisms for ED and OW/OB, and there is a need for more research on the associations between different types of trauma and ED/OW/OB in veterans. Keywords Eating disorders . Obesity . Overweight . Veterans . Binge eating disorder
Introduction U.S. military veterans are at increased risk for overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) compared with the general U.S. population and also may experience elevated rates of eating disorders (EDs) [1]. The specific reasons for their increased risk of OW/OB are unclear. This population has been relatively understudied in the field of EDs. The purpose of this literature review was to examine current prevalence of and risk factors for EDs and OW/OB in veterans in order to highlight themes and identify gaps in the existing research on both EDs and OW/OB in this population. Another purpose was to identify common pathways in the development of EDs and OW/OB to Topical Collection on Psychological Issues * Karen Mitchell [email protected] 1
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
2
National Center for PTSD at the VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
3
Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
aid in designing effective interventions for veterans struggling with weight management and disordered eating.
ED Prevalence in Veterans Veterans may be at increased risk for EDs compared with nonveterans [1]. However, previous studies have reported a wide range of prevalence estimates of EDs among veterans, possibly due to varying methods used to identify EDs. In two recent studies using electronic medical records (EMRs) from the Veterans Health Administra
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