NASW NEWS

Dieting Called Source of Problem

Field of Overeating Offers Opportunities

Sixty-one percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.

By John V. O'Neill, MSW, News Staff

Media attention to the growing "epidemic" of overweight and obesity has highlighted a problem area where some social workers already are engaged in prevention and treatment work, and others will follow as the nation pays more attention to overeating and resultant health problems.

Several social workers in the eating disorders field say binge eating and compulsive eating receive short shrift compared to the less-common disorders of anorexia and bulimia and provide opportunities for social work practice.

The scale of the problem is growing as prosperity makes rich foods readily available, busy schedules lead to consumption of quick-fix "junk foods," sedentary lifestyles slow the natural burn-off of calories and dieting has upset the body's natural regulators.

The scope of the problem was set out in the recent "Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity."

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