In brief: To study the methods and extent to which iemale college gymnasts diet, data were collected from 42 gymnasts aged 17 to 22 years, who represented five teams in a major athletic conference. The survey showed that (1) all the participants were dieting; (2) 26 were using at least one form of pathogenic weight-control behavior; and (3) 21 of the 28 competitors who were told by their coaches that they were too heavy resorted to using pathogenic weight-control behaviors. The authors discuss the implications of the demands of gymnastics and the additional social pressure to maintain exceptional thinness.

Antidepressant treatment trials of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have suggested beneficial effects. Twenty-eight patients with the disorder (9 constipation-predominant, 19 diarrhea-predominant) completed a double-blind crossover study using desipramine, atropine, and placebo in random sequence. A four-week observation period preceded three six-week test periods. Bowel habits, abdominal distress, and affect were reported daily and in biweekly evaluations. Psychological assessments and rectosigmoid contractile studies were done in each period. Stool frequency, diarrhea, abdominal pain, depression, and slow contractions decreased significantly more in diarrhea-predominant patients during desipramine compared with placebo and atropine treatments. Diarrhea-prone patients' depression scores fell more in all periods than constipation-prone patients. Fifteen patients (13 diarrhea-predominant) improved globally during desipramine, five during placebo and six during atropine treatments. Desipramine may be helpful in treating IBS, perhaps through antidepressant and antimuscarinic effects.

In brief: Athletes have gone to extraordinary lengths to reduce their body fat stores in an effort to improve performance. To identify athletes who need help, a questionnaire was administered to 182 female collegiate athletes. Results showed that 32% practiced at least one of the weight-control behaviors defined as pathogenic, which include self-induced vomiting; binges more than twice weekly; and the use of laxatives, diet pills, and/or diuretics. A number of steps are suggested to alert coaches, trainers, and team physicians to the high-risk athlete who requires special attention or treatment to correct this disorder.

It has not been clear from earlier studies whether it is binge eating per se or the compensatory behaviors frequently associated with binge eating (i.e., self‐induced vomiting and/or laxative abuse) that provide the most relevant marker for subclassifying anorexia nervosa. The current study addressed this question by comparing the clinical and psychological features of three groups of anorexia nervosa patients: “pure restricting” patients who do not binge (by definition) and who also do not purge (AN‐R, N = 116); “restricting‐purging” patients who engage in purging behavior (AN‐RP, N = 74); and anorexia nervosa “bulimics” who binge eat as defined in earlier studies (AN‐B, N = 190). While all three groups displayed similar levels of psychological disturbance on many variables, the overall pattern of findings indicates that the AN‐RP group displays significantly more psychopathology than the AN‐R group and their profile of disturbance is very similar to that observed with the AN‐B group. Thus, anorexia nervosa patients who purge, regardless of whether or not they report objective binge episodes, may be meaningfully distinguished from nonpurging patients. These results, combined with the medical risks associated with purging behaviors and the formidable problems associated with the definition of binge eating, support a sub‐typing system for anorexia nervosa based on the presence or absence of purging rather than binge eating. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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