Addictive overeating: lessons learned from medical students' perceptions of Overeaters Anonymous.
OBJECTIVE
To explore medical students' perceptions of Overeaters Anonymous (OA).


METHODS
72 fifth-year medical students' reports of their experiences of attending OA meetings were analysed using thematic analysis. Students were required to submit these reports in order to complete a compulsory component of the Addiction Medicine run in their medical training at the University of Otago, Christchurch during 2002-2007.


RESULTS
Analysis of the students' reports highlights an emerging understanding of the concepts of addiction in general and addictive overeating in particular. This understanding is reflected in the students' acceptance of addictive overeating as a potential disorder and their increased empathy and confidence in working with patients with this disorder.


CONCLUSIONS
Improving treatment for people with obesity is a major contemporary health challenge. Addictive overeating could be a critical element in understanding the nature of obesity but has not been the subject of extensive research to date. Medical students in this study discovered that addiction to food is not just a theoretical construct but fits with the actual experience of people. The poignancy of these narratives illustrates how such information can promote greater understanding of medical and other life issues which may benefit their identification and treatment.
Schroder
Ria
R
National Addiction Centre, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, PO Box 4345, Christchurch Mail Centre, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. ria.schroder@otago.ac.nz
Sellman
Doug
D
Elmslie
Jane
J
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016739:Behavior, Addictive; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires