National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders

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National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
AbbreviationANAD
Formation1976
FounderVivian Meehan
HeadquartersChicago, IL
ServicesEating Disorder Peer Support, Advocacy, Education
Website https://anad.org/

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) is the oldest organization aimed at fighting eating disorders in the United States. ANAD assists people struggling with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and also provides resources for families, schools and the eating disorder community. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, ANAD is a non-profit organization working in the areas of support, awareness, advocacy, referral, education, and prevention.

Contents

History

In the early 1970s, Vivian Hanson Meehan, ANAD's president and founder, was a nurse at a hospital in Highland Park, Illinois. When a family member was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, Vivian was unable to find any information or resources on eating disorders. Support was unavailable. She was told by experts, "Anorexia Nervosa is so rare that there are probably no more than 2000 cases of Anorexia Nervosa in the United States - you are wasting your time."[ citation needed ]

Meehan decided to do something simple to see if the experts were right: she placed a small classified ad in a local newspaper looking for others who were searching for information about anorexia nervosa. Within days the ad generated eight responses from those struggling with eating disorders and family members in her community. A national magazine picked up on the story and Meehan was deluged by thousands of phone calls and letters. She opened up her home and her heart and launched the first helpline and referral service in the nation for anorexia nervosa and associated eating disorders.[ citation needed ]

The small support group Meehan founded in her home went on to establish groups across the nation. These groups continue to provide peer-to-peer support and self-help for the individuals and families affected by eating disorders and are available at no cost.

Meehan was born in Sanish, North Dakota, in 1925. She became a Registered Nurse (RN) after graduation from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She was a supervisor of nurses and later director of the Department of Eating Disorders at Highland Park Hospital in Highland Park, Illinois. [1]

Programs

ANAD is the leading nonprofit in the U.S. that provides free, peer support services to anyone struggling with an eating disorder, regardless of age, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or background.

ANAD's Helpline is available for treatment referrals, support and encouragement. Those who answer the phones offer support, encouragement and resources including referral to support groups, therapists and treatment centers.

ANAD also hosts a variety of weekly virtual support groups and a peer mentorship mentorship program for those struggling with an eating disorder.

Related Research Articles

An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient eats a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. People often experience comorbidity between an eating disorder and OCD. It is estimated 20-60% of patients with an ED have a history of OCD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulimia nervosa</span> Type of eating disorder

Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten from the binging phase of the process. Binge eating refers to eating a large amount of food in a short amount of time. Purging refers to the attempts to get rid of the food consumed. This may be done by vomiting or taking laxatives.

Promotion of anorexia is the promotion of behaviors related to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. It is often referred to simply as pro-ana or ana. The lesser-used term pro-mia refers likewise to bulimia nervosa and is sometimes used interchangeably with pro-ana. Pro-ana groups differ widely in their stances. Most claim that they exist mainly as a non-judgmental environment for anorexics; a place to turn to, to discuss their illness, and to support those who choose to enter recovery. Others deny anorexia nervosa is a mental illness and claim instead that it is a lifestyle choice that should be respected by doctors and family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beat (charity)</span> Charity in United Kingdom

Beat is the UK's leading charity supporting those affected by eating disorders and campaigning on their behalf. Founded in 1989 as the Eating Disorders Association, it celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019.

Christina "Christy" Renée Henrich was an American artistic gymnast. Her death from anorexia nervosa at age 22 led to major reforms in the way women's gymnastics is covered on television and in the news media. She was coached by Al Fong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Phi Epsilon (social)</span>

Delta Phi Epsilon is an international sorority founded on March 17, 1917 at New York University Law School in Manhattan. It is one of 26 social sororities that form the National Panhellenic Conference. It has 110 active chapters, three of which are located in Canada, making the sorority an international organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of anorexia nervosa</span>

The history of anorexia nervosa begins with descriptions of religious fasting dating from the Hellenistic era and continuing into the medieval period. A number of well known historical figures, including Catherine of Siena and Mary, Queen of Scots are believed to have suffered from the condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eating Attitudes Test</span> Questionnaire of symptoms and concerns characteristic of eating disorders

The Eating Attitudes Test, created by David Garner, is a widely used 26-item, standardized self-reported questionnaire of symptoms and concerns characteristic of eating disorders. The EAT is useful in assessing "eating disorder risk" in high school, college and other special risk samples such as athletes. EAT has been extremely effective in screening for anorexia nervosa in many populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Eating Disorders Association</span>

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is an American non-profit organization devoted to preventing eating disorders, providing treatment referrals, and increasing the education and understanding of eating disorders, weight, and body image. The National Eating Disorders Association organizes and sponsors National Eating Disorders Week. Also known as NEDAwareness Week, it takes place during the last week of February, and is "a collective effort of primarily volunteers, including eating disorder professionals, health care providers, students, educators, social workers, and individuals committed to raising awareness of the dangers surrounding eating disorders and the need for early intervention and treatment."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anorexia mirabilis</span> Near-starvation religious fasting

Anorexia mirabilis, also known as holy anorexia or inedia prodigiosa or colloquially as fasting girls, is an eating disorder, similar to that of anorexia nervosa, that was common in, but not restricted to, the Middle Ages in Europe, largely affecting Catholic nuns and religious women. Self-starvation was common among religious women, as a way to imitate the suffering of Jesus in his torments during the Passion, as women were largely restricted to causing themselves voluntary pain by fasting, whereas holy men experienced suffering through physical punishment, voluntary poverty, and celibacy.

<i>Thin</i> (film) 2006 film

Thin is a 2006 cinéma vérité documentary film directed by Lauren Greenfield and distributed by HBO. It was filmed at The Renfrew Center of Florida in Coconut Creek, a 40-bed residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders. The center has been described as "one of the nation's best-known inpatient eating disorders centres". The film follows four women with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders in their struggle for recovery. The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival in 2005, before premiering to the general public on November 14, 2006 on HBO.

The Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey (MEBS) is a 30 item self-report questionnaire used to assess the presence of an eating disorder. It is designed for use with both male and females age 10 to adult. The MEBS was originally designed for use by McGue et al. in the Minnesota Twin Family Study (MTFS) a longitudinal study to assess the onset of psychological pathology including eating disorders among 1,400 twin girls and their parents.

Maudsley family therapy also known as family-based treatment or Maudsley approach, is a family therapy for the treatment of anorexia nervosa devised by Christopher Dare and colleagues at the Maudsley Hospital in London. A comparison of family to individual therapy was conducted with eighty anorexia patients. The study showed family therapy to be the more effective approach in patients under 18 and within 3 years of the onset of their illness. Subsequent research confirmed the efficacy of family-based treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa. Family-based treatment has been adapted for bulimia nervosa and showed promising results in a randomized controlled trial comparing it to supportive individual therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anorexia nervosa</span> Type of eating disorder

Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Anorexia is a term of Greek origin: an- and orexis, translating literally to "a loss of appetite"; the adjective nervosa indicating the functional and non-organic nature of the disorder. Anorexia nervosa was coined by Gull in 1873 but, despite literal translation, the feeling of hunger is frequently present and the pathological control of this instinct is a source of satisfaction for the patients.

<i>Perfect</i> (Friend novel)

Perfect is a children's novel by American author Natasha Friend, first published in 2004 by Milkweed Editions. Perfect won the Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature in 2004. This book is about a young girl's struggle with bulimia nervosa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Treasure</span> British psychiatrist

Janet Treasure, OBE PhD FRCP FRCPsych, is a British psychiatrist, who specialises in research and treatment of eating disorders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Westin Act</span>

The Anna Westin Act of 2015, is a proposed bill which is aimed at training school officials and healthcare professionals on how to identify those with eating disorders and on how to intervene. 30 million Americans suffer from eating disorders. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate out of any mental illness and affects women 2.5 times more than men. Additionally, eating disorders research to improve identification and treatment is limited. Eating disorder research receives some of the lowest amounts of research funding compared to all other diseases at $30 research dollars per person affected versus $188 research dollars for Autism and $682 research dollars for Breast Cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Tchanturia</span> English psychologist and eating disorders researcher

Kate Tchanturia is a British psychologist who is a professor of psychology in eating disorders at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. She is also Consultant Psychologist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust for the National Eating Disorder Service. Her main research interests include cultural differences in illness presentations, cognitive profiles in eating disorders, and experimental work in emotion processing and translational research from experimental findings to real clinical practice. Tchanturia has a particular interest in women’s mental health and has pioneered the PEACE pathway for autism and eating disorder comorbidity.

Body image disturbance (BID) is a common symptom in patients with eating disorders and is characterized by an altered perception of one's own body.

References

  1. "'ANAD History'". 2023. Archived from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2010-09-10.