Book Review
Eating Disorders 
Medical Management of Eating Disorders C Laird Birmingham, Pierre Beumont. New York (NY): Cambridge University Press; 2004. 289 p. US$55.00.
Reviewer
rating*: Excellent
Review by: Hany Bissada, MD, FRCPC
Ottawa, Ontario
In any comprehensive eating disorders program, the internist, an important member of the eating disorders treatment team, should ideally medically manage the eating disorder. Unfortunately, this ideal situation is the exception rather than the rule, and an internist is seldom found on the eating disorders treatment team. This is partly owing to shortage of physicians and partly to lack of adequate funding. The timely appearance of this book provides the psychiatrist, the family physician, and the allied health professionals on the team with up-to-date diagnostic tools and treatment practices that will allow the team to provide adequate medical management for their patients with eating disorders.
Although it is not intended to be a comprehensive medical review, this book provides a clinically useful overview of the medical problems most commonly encountered by clinicians treating patients with eating disorders. The book is divided into 5 parts, and the structure allows readers to access information either on the basis of a physical complaint (that is, a symptom) or by reviewing body systems for a more comprehensive reading. Although having these 2 choices can be convenient and practical, it leads to some partial duplication of information. I found myself having to read the same topic in 2 different chapters (that is, under the body system and again on the basis of its physical presentation) to capture all the information provided for that particular topic. The information I gathered, however, was thorough and clinically relevant. In addition, the text is supplemented with diagnostic colour photographs depicting important physical manifestations of eating disorders.
The book’s title, Medical Management of Eating Disorders, does not do justice to its content. The title covers Parts 1 to 3, but fails to refer to Part 4, written by Dr Beumont, professor of psychiatry. Part 4 addresses the psychiatric and psychological issues related to eating disorders and reviews the available psychological therapies. Dr Beumont’s text is well written and easy to follow.
Part 5 provides special chapters describing the role of the family physician, the nurse, and the dietician in the medical and psychological management of eating disorders. It provides relevant and astute suggestions to the nurse and the dietician on ways to stay focused in their respective fields of expertise while providing emotional support to patients without experiencing emotional burnout or becoming overly involved with their patients. The authors limited the discussion of the nurse’s role on the eating disorders team to the traditional role of the nurse in providing medical care and supervision to eating disorders patients. I hope, that in future editions of this book, the role of the nurse on the team will be expanded to include the role of the advanced nurse practician, who is trained to lead and colead groups, particularly on body-image issues and assertiveness training.
This book, although short of being a reference, provides a thorough review of the medical management of the most common medical problems encountered by clinicians treating patients with eating disorders. The authors made a concerted effort to produce an easily followed text that offers useful information to professionals, including psychiatrists, family physicians, nurses, dieticians, and psychologists, as well as to patients with eating disorders and their family members. Patients who read this book may gain new appreciation of the serious medical complications associated with eating disorders. However, the book is rather expensive, which may discourage members of the public from purchasing it.
*Reviewer
Rating Scale/ Échelle d’évaluation du réviseur
Excellent / Excellent
Very Good / Très bon
Good / Bon
Fair / Passable
Not recommended / Pas recommandé
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