Eating Disorders

September 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-There are many texts that deal with eating disorders, but this is one of the more comprehensive ones. The author not only covers the basics (symptoms, consequences, treatment) of anorexia and bulimia; she also addresses lesser-known types of disordered eating, such as binge eating disorder and unclassified eating disorders. There are chapters that thoroughly discuss the possible causes of eating disorders and relate them to addiction. Most interesting are the sections that focus on the history of starving and on those who knowingly have starved themselves, be it for piety, politics, or entertainment, and the parts that highlight society's ever-changing ideals of beauty, femininity, and thinness. The book notes some correlation between eating disorders and society's near-impossible body image ideals. Each chapter begins with thought-provoking questions to be addressed in the text and ends with a copious section of multimedia resources that can be used for further exploration. Readers will appreciate the many personal accounts from those who have dealt with eating disorders, as well as opinions from experts in the field. Contact information for these individuals is included, too, such as Twitter handles, email addresses, and websites, further enhancing students' ability to delve deeper in the subject. There are a few photos throughout, along with some satisfactory text boxes. The text can be somewhat dry at times and some of the statistics complicated, but overall this is a strong resource for teens doing research that goes beyond basic report writing.-Patricia Feriano, Our Lady of Mercy School, Potomac, MD

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