[alimentation]Effects Of Semi Starvation

Starvation Symptoms

The Effects Of Starvation On Behavior: Implications for Eating Disorders

by David M. Garner, Ph.D.

The following is an adaptation of a portion of a book chapter:
Garner, D.M. (1997). Psychoeducational principles in the treatment of
eating disorders. In: Handbook for Treatment of Eating Disorders.
(145-177). D.M. Garner & P.E. Garfinkel (Eds). New York, NY:
Guilford Press.

One of the most important advancements in the understanding of
eating disorders is the recognition that severe and prolonged dietary
restriction can lead to serious physical and psychological complications
(Garner, 1997). Many of the symptoms once thought to be primary
features of anorexia nervosa are actually symptoms of starvation. Given
what we know about the biology of weight regulation, what is the impact
of weight suppression on the individual? This is particularly relevant
for those with anorexia nervosa, but is also important for people with
eating disorders who have lost significant amounts of body weight.
Perhaps the most powerful illustration of the effects of restrictive
dieting and weight loss on behavior is an experimental study conducted
almost 50 years ago and published in 1950 by Ancel Keys and his
colleagues at the University of Minnesota (Keys et al., 1950). The
experiment involved carefully studying 36 young, healthy,
psychologically normal men while restricting their caloric intake for 6
months. More than 100 men volunteered for the study as an alternative to
military service; the 36 selected had the highest levels of physical
and psychological health, as well as the most commitment to the
objectives of the experiment. What makes the "starvation study" (as it
is commonly known) so important is that many of the experiences observed
in the volunteers are the same as those experienced by patients with
eating disorders. This section of this chapter is a summary of the
changes observed in the Minnesota study.

During the first 3 months of the semistarvation experiment, the
volunteers ate normally while their behavior, personality, and eating
patterns were studied in detail. During the next 6 months, the men were
restricted to approximately half of their former food intake and lost,
on average, approximately 25% of their former weight. Although this was
described as a study of "semistarvation," it is important to keep in
mind that cutting the men's rations to half of their former intake is
precisely the level of caloric deficit used to define "conservative"
treatments for obesity (Stunkard, 1993). The 6 months of weight loss
were followed by 3 months of rehabilitation, during which the men were
gradually refed. A subgroup was followed for almost 9 months after the
re-feeding began. Most of the results were reported for only 32 men,
since 4 men were withdrawn either during or at the end of the
semistarvation phase. Although the individual responses to weight loss
varied considerably, the men experienced dramatic physical,
psychological, and social changes. In most cases, these changes
persisted during the rehabilitation or re-nourishment phase.

Attitudes and Behavior Related to Food and Eating

One of the most of the striking changes that occurred in the
volunteers was a dramatic increase in food preoccupations. The men found
concentration on their usual activities increasingly difficult, because
they became plagued by incessant thoughts of food and eating. During
the semistarvation phase of the experiement, food became a principal
topic of conversation, reading, and daydreams. Rating scales revealed
that the men experienced an increase in thinking about food, as well as
corresponding declines in interest in sex and activity during
semistarvation. The actual words used in the original report are
particularly revealing and the following quotations followed by page
numbers in parentheses are from Keys et al. (1950) with permission of
the University of Minnesota Press.