Finally, remember the doctor is not the only source of information about issues of health. Support groups and newsletters can be helpful in specific areas. Most people don't exercise enough, but some people's exercise obsessions may indicate an eating disorder known as bulimia nervosa - or the beginnings of a problem. A disorder primarily affecting women, bulimia consists of regular binge eating, then vomiting, fasting or exercising to control weight gain. In Barnett's study, women who exercised five or more days a week for an hour a day and reported a compulsion to exercise also had a tendency to diet, a preference to be thin and a general feeling of unhappiness.
People see two groups, one that vomits and one that exercises.
In reality, exercise could be unhealthy for some women who engage in it to extremes. The findings come from Barnett's doctoral dissertation at the University of Washington. Now a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University's Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Barnett will present her work at the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy meeting in Washington D.C. in November. An excellent education is the best medicine for children caught in lives where poverty, homelessness, drug use and domestic violence are second nature, say two Brown doctors. Under RISE, the children of women who have been incarcerated or addicted are enrolled in well-regarded local private or parochial middle schools.