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Quote by Randolph M. Nesse

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Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry

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Randolph M. Nesse
Randolph M. Nesse

Randolph M. Nesse is a renowned American author born in 1948. His works primarily focus on biology, evolution, and human behavior, having a profound impact on the scientific community. more

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“Patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are surrounded by excess food, but their bodies are aware only of starvation. Their behavior is appropriate for a situation in which getting just a few extra calories might make the difference between life and death.”

WomenEating DisordersAnorexiaBulimiaPsychopathologyEvolutionary PsychiatryMismatchRegulation Mechanisms
Book:Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry
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“The starting point is recognizing that selection has shaped powerful mechanisms to protect against starvation. During a famine, those mechanisms motivate animals to get food -any food- eat it quickly, and eat more than usual, because food supplies are obviously erratic. The system also adjusts the body weight set point upward because extra fat stores are valuable when food sources are unreliable. And, as noted already, weight loss slows down metabolism, which is appropriate when a person is starving but the opposite of what is needed when trying to lose weight. Also, intermittent access to food signals unreliable access to food supplies, so it increases food intake and bingeing, even in rats.”

WomenEating DisordersAnorexiaBulimiaPsychopathologyEvolutionary PsychiatryMismatchRegulation Mechanisms
Book:Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry
Create image