ABSTRACT
It is now well established that disturbed eating attitudes and behavior are common in adolescent girls and young women, including those with type I diabetes mellitus (DM) (Powers, Malone, Coovert, & Schulman, 1990; Rydall, Rodin, Olmsted, Devenvi, & Daneman, 1997). It has been proposed that specific aspects of diabetes management, including strict dietary restraint, weight gain caused by insulin therapy, and the availability of insulin manipulation as a weight-control strategy, may predispose vulnerable individuals with DM to the spectrum of disordered eating, including bulimia nervosa (Figure 1) (Fairburn, Peveler, Davies, Mann, &- Mayou, 1991; Rodin & Daneman, 1992; see Figure 1). The question of whether clinical eating disorders are more common in the diabetic population remains unresolved, although there is mounting evidence that even mild eating disturbances in this population are associated with poor blood sugar control and with increased risk of early diabetes-related medical complications. This chapter reviews the clinical presentation, detection, and potential consequences of eating disorders in young women with DM. and considers several possibilities for primary and secondary prevention of eating disturbances in this high-risk group.
