Eating Disorders: An Overview of Indian Research

Abstract

There has been sporadic research on eating disorders in India, with no published attempt to collate and summarize the literature landscape. Hence, the present narrative review aims to summarize Indian work related to eating disorders, discern current trends, and highlight gaps in research that will provide directions for future work in the area. Electronic search using the MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO databases was done to identify relevant peer-reviewed English language articles, in October 2018, using combinations of the following medical subject headings or free text terms: “eating disorders,” “anorexia nervosa,” “bulimia,” “treatment,” “epidemiology,” “co-morbidity,” “management,” “medications,” “behavioral intervention,” and “psychosocial intervention.” The data extracted from studies included details such as author names, year, from which of the states in India the work originated, type of intervention (for interventional studies), comparator (if any), and major outcomes. There is increasing research focused on eating disorders from India over the last decade, but it continues to be an under-researched area as evidenced by the relative paucity of original research. The cultural differences between east and west have contributed to variations in the presentation as well as challenges in the diagnosis. Hence, there is a need for the development of culturally sensitive instruments for diagnosis, as well as generating locally relevant epidemiological data about eating disorders from community and hospital settings.

Prevalence of Eating Disorders and Its Associated Risk Factors in Students of a Medical College Hospital in South India

“…This study sheds new light on the risk factors of eating disorders and also reports a significant association between body shape concerns, stress, and eating disorders, which has not been assessed in the Indian population [27]. But one limitation of the study is that this is done in a single institution which might be limiting the generalizability.…”

Body Image and Eating Disorders Among South Asian American Women: What Are We Missing?

“…For instance, in a sample of treatment-seeking SA adolescents in the United Kingdom, Tareen and colleagues (2005) found that, although their patients exhibited many typical anorexia nervosa (AN) symptoms, (e.g., loss of appetite), they did not endorse fat phobia or extreme weight preoccupation. Similar "non-fat phobic" AN presentations have been documented on the Indian subcontinent and in other Asian regions (Nakai et al, 2021;Pike & Dunne, 2015;Vaidyanathan et al, 2019). While certain symptoms can be difficult to assess for all populations (e.g., compulsive exercise; Hockin-Boyers & Warin, 2021), it is possible that some "typical" ED features might be completely absent, manifest differently, or considered socially acceptable in SAs (Kawamura, 2015).…”

Obesogenic Behavior and Binge Eating Disorder in an Elderly Female with Schizophrenia

“…3 One study showed that 16% of people with schizophrenia had binge eating disorder, 4 and in China, Japan, Africa, and Latin America, binge eating disorder had the highest prevalence among all eating disorders, although no cases were reported in India. 5 In India, the most common psychiatric comorbidity (50%) observed in patients with an eating disorder was depression. 5 Here, we present an interesting case of schizophrenia in a patient whose psychotic features were under control, but her eating habits were worrisome and prompted consultation.…”

“…5 In India, the most common psychiatric comorbidity (50%) observed in patients with an eating disorder was depression. 5 Here, we present an interesting case of schizophrenia in a patient whose psychotic features were under control, but her eating habits were worrisome and prompted consultation. 1 every 3 hours and once during the nighttime; approximate calories, 1,500-1,700 per day.…”