ABSTRACT
Prevention programs are intended to reduce eating-disorder behaviors, as well as reduce or stabilize the risk factors known to be associated with eating disorders. Most prevention interventions target multiple eating-disorder risks and maintaining factors in order to boost their overall effectiveness. Eating disorders develop over time in a small percentage of a much larger population potentially exposed to prevention programs. Investigations of new-onset cases require longitudinal follow-up of a large number of prevention-program participants, as well as their matched controls in order to have sufficient statistical power. Watson et al. found about one-quarter of the prevention programs in the universal intervention category were directed toward teachers and health-care professionals. The reason prevention programs often target younger people is because fantasies like the thin or muscled ideal take root early and become accepted as a young person’s personal standard. Prevention programs are designed to reduce thin idealization, weight-related bullying and teasing, over-valuation of shape and weight, and dieting.
