Book Description

The Body Betrayed: Women, Eating Disorders, and Treatment introduces readers to the continuum of eating pathologies, then investigates concerns of comorbidity, the influence of family relationships, and the impact of societal factors as they relate to eating disorders. The author also addresses concerns of sexuality, the effects of physical and sexual abuse, and chemical dependency, before turning to the medical complications and biology of eating disorders and the physical costs and psychological risks of obesity. The book closes by discussing some of the feelings and patterns for which eating disorders frequently seem to provide a way of coping, and often-encountered challenges during and benefits of treatment. This volume includes a multitude of thoroughly disguised case histories to bring clinical concepts alive, and utilizes literary quotes, personal and historical anecdotes, and metaphors to achieve, at times, a refreshingly first-hand and accessible tone. It is an invaluable resource for clinicians treating patients with eating disorders, as well as for lay audiences who have had their own lives, or those of people close to them, impacted by eating disorders.