Blog

Carolyn Ross MD

Risk Factors for Weight Gain in Children

Research has shown several factors that make it more likely for your child to become overweight or obese: Mother or father are overweight Mother was overweight before she became pregnant Parents who smoke or being...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Kids getting heavier earlier

When looking at individuals born between 1976-1985 and those born 1966-1975, 20% were obese by 20-29 years of age.  Comparing this to older generations, individuals born between 1946-55 were 30-39 years of age before reaching...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Walking and risk for stroke

Walking just two hours per week can reduce your risk of stroke by 30% or more.  The lead researcher stated: "We found that increasing physical activity including brisk walking was protective against stroke, especially ischemic...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Food and Mood – A New Twist

A recent article reported that a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high-quality meat and fish may help prevent depression and anxiety.  The typical Western diet high in refined an dprocessed foods and...
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Compulsive Overeating obesity stress Weight

what to text your ex

getting back with an ex - Recently I found out that my blood pressure was high.  After considering and trying medication for a short period, I opted to try integrative medicine therapies which were successful!...
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Carolyn Ross MD Compulsive Overeating Depression Weight

Food is a metaphor… Part II

In the last blog, I talked about how food often represents something besides just food.  We're not always aware of this.  For example, people may say "I love food."  But is it really food that...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Food is a metaphor….Part I

If you have used food to medicate your feelings or if your extra weight helps you feel safe, then you are using food as a metaphor. A metaphor describes one thing as if it were something else....
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Carolyn Ross MD

What does spirituality have to do with eating disorders?

I used to believe that we must choose between science and reason on one hand, and spirituality on the other, in how we lead our lives.  Now I consider this a false choice.  We can...
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Anorexia Bulimia Carolyn Ross MD Compulsive Overeating Depression obesity Products & News stress Weight

Taking care of home

The recent crisis in the Gulf brought to mind, as I'm sure it has for many, how we take care of our home.  The earth, our terrestrial home is under siege and it is heartbreaking...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Can what you eat protect you from depression?

A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry (Nov, 2009) studied middle aged people and their diets.  Their conclusion was:  "In middle-aged participants, a processed food dietary pattern is a risk factor for depression...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Getting really serious about healthy eating

I don't usually share much about my personal eating plan.  Just like many of you, after menopause,  I struggled with my own weight.  Of more concern t me was my elevated cholesterol and family history...
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Carolyn Ross MD

How can mother’s help daughters with body image?

As a physician specializing in eating disorders, I see many young women who first learned to dislike their bodies or learned to diet from women in their families, including their mothers.  When I speak with...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Historic day for those suffering with Binge Eating Disorder

Why is this so important?  The National Institutes of Mental Health estimates that 3.5% of women and 2% of men have BED.  Binge eating disorder is more prevalent than anorexia or bulimia.  Sixty percent of...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Are you ready?

In my consultations with individuals who are trying to lose weight, I often ask them, "why now?"  Many people are motivated to lose weight because of health problems that are affecting their quality of life. ...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Just say NO to diet resolutions. Make New Year’s goals come true!!

Every year at this time, many people choose to make resolutions to lose weight, go on a diet, start an exercise program, get in better shape, etc.  Most of these resolutions fail.  Perhaps you're one...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Posting Calories in NYC – Help or Not?

A recent article in the Opinion section of the  New York TImes discussed the results from multiple studies about whether the mandatory posting of calories which is in effect in NYC has helped people to...
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Carolyn Ross MD

The family dinner table

What were your experiences growing up around meal times?  A new study published in Science Direct by Annette S. Kluck from Texas Tech University found that family dysfunction and negative family food-related experiences increased risk...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Alternative Medicine is Mainstream

Below is a link to a very interesting article that talks about how our genetic makeup is not fixed in stone and that alternative therapies have the ability to change our risks for health issues....
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Carolyn Ross MD

Scarcity and abundance

I've been reading lately about the energy of money and how we live in either scarcity or feelings of abundance.  I don't think this energy phenomenon applies only to money.  I think of my own...
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Carolyn Ross MD

Alcoholism and Women

Alcoholism is not an uncommon co-occuring disorder in those with eating disorders including binge eating disorder and compulsive overeating.  About one-third of women with an eating disorder will also have alcohol problems.  Up to 25%...
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