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Objective: Information regarding the prevalence, nature, sources, and psychosocial correlates of teasing was obtained for overweight (OV) children (10 to 14 years of age) vs. non-overweight (non-OV) peers. It was hypothesized that weight-related teasing would be negatively correlated with self-esteem in specific domains and with enjoyment of physical/social activities and positively correlated with loneliness, bulimic behaviors, body dissatisfaction, and enjoyment of sedentary/isolative activities. Research Methods and Procedures: Teasing experiences and psychosocial correlates were assessed among OV children from a fitness camp and a demographically similar school sample of non-OV children. Results: Among the OV children, appearance-related teasing was more prevalent, frequent, and upsetting, involved disparaging nicknames focusing more on weight rather than less stigmatized aspects of appearance, and more often perpetrated by peers in general rather than a specific peer.Degree of teasing within the full sample was significantly associated with higher weight concerns, more loneliness, poorer self-perception of one's physical appearance, higher preference for sedentary/isolative activities, and lower preference for active/social activities, all but the latter association holding up above and beyond actual weight status and demographics. Among OV children, teasing was associated with bulimic behaviors. Associations with type of teasing showed specificity, with weight-related teasing predicting weight and appearance variables and competency-related teasing related to social domain factors. Discussion: When frequency, intensity, emotional impact, and stigmatized content are examined, findings indicate that teasing is more severe for OV children. Effective interventions are needed to help victims cope with and prevent further weight-related teasing, which may improve peer functioning, enhance weight control efforts, and reduce risk for future eating disturbance.

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Objective In 2015, the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) collaborated with international patient, advocacy, and parent organizations to craft the “Nine Truths About Eating Disorders.” This document has been translated into over 30 languages and has been distributed globally to replace outdated and erroneous stereotypes about eating disorders with factual information. In this paper, we review the state of the science supporting the Nine Truths. Methods The literature supporting each of the Nine Truths was reviewed, summarized, and richly annotated. Results Most of the Nine Truths arise from well-established foundations in the scientific literature. Additional evidence is required to further substantiate some of the assertions in the document. Future investigations are needed in all areas to deepen our understanding of eating disorders, their causes, and their treatments. Conclusions The “Nine Truths About Eating Disorders” is a guiding document to accelerate global dissemination of accurate and evidence-informed information about eating disorders.

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Depression, anxiety and stress are common problems among adolescents. Teaching young people coping strategies in school-based intervention programs is one promising approach hoped to remedy the negative consequences of distress in adolescence. The aim of the two pilot studies was to examine the effect of a brief intervention based on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on depressive symptomatology (Australian study, N = 66) and stress (Swedish study, N = 32) among adolescents screened for psychosocial problems in school settings. In both studies, subjects were assigned to receive the ACT-groupintervention, or a control intervention featuring individual support from the school health care. The Australian study was a planned comparison, with random allocation for girls, plus one replication of a boys group. The Swedish study used a randomized controlled design. The ACT-intervention was an 8-session manualized group program. The Australian study showed significant reductions in depressive symptoms with a large effect, and significant reductions in psychological inflexibility with a medium effect when compared to the control group who received standard care. In the Swedish study, the ACT-intervention group, when compared to the control group, reported significantly lower levels of stress with a large effect size, and marginally significant decrease of anxiety, and marginally significant increased mindfulness skills. Taken together, the ACT-intervention seems to be a promising intervention for reducing stress and depressive symptoms among young adolescents in school and should be tested in full-sized studies. Limitations of these two pilots include small samples.

Objective: To examine the prevalence, incidence and prospective risk factors for eating disorders (ED) among young adult females. Method: Using a prospective design, a randomly selected sample of 1157 females (18-30 years) from the general population was examined with questionnaires for establishing ED diagnoses, self-esteem, body concern, coping and perceived social support. Results: The prevalence of ED was 3.2% and the 2-year ®rst-time incidence was 0.0105 (n=8). Subjects in the extended incidence group (n=34) reported signi®cantly lower self-esteem and perceived social support, and higher body concern and relative use of escape-avoidance coping, at the onset of the study in 1997, compared to controls (n=643). Furthermore, they reported a signi®cant increase in body concern and relative use of escape-avoidance coping, and a signi®cant decrease in selfesteem compared to controls from 1997 to 1999. Conclusion: These factors may be considered as risk factors for later development of ED among young adult women.