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Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders pp 1–7Cite as

Universal Prevention

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Synonyms

Primary prevention

Definition

Universal prevention involves fostering resilience and reducing risk among nonsymptomatic populations. In the short term, prevention programs are expected to increase resiliency and decrease risk factors. In the long term, it is expected that those changes will lead to fewer eating problems and eating disorders (EDs). This is to be distinguished from selective prevention which involves programs that focus on nonsymptomatic people who are considered at high risk due to biological, psychological, and/or sociocultural factors and indicated/targeted prevention where the target audience does not yet have the disease or the disorder, but is at risk because of the presence of clear precursors to the disease (see Levine and Smolak 2006 for a full description).

Why Prevention?

Mental health difficulties can prevent youth from attending school. More often they simply struggle on a daily basis with low self-esteem, anxiety, body image issues, low mood,...

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References and Further Reading

  • Almenara, C. A., Fauqet, J., López-Guimerà, G., Pàmias-Massana, M., & Sànchez-Carracedo, D. (2014). Sociocultural influences and body change strategies in Spanish adolescent boys of different weight status. Eating Behaviors, 15, 654–657. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2014.09.001.

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  • Atkinson, M. J., & Wade, T. D. (2014). Does mindfulness have potential in eating disorders prevention? A preliminary controlled trial with young adult women. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. doi:10.1111/eip.12160. Advance online publication.

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  • Butterfly Foundation. (2014). Investing in need- Cost effective interventions for eating disorders. Retrieved from http://thebutterflyfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/FULL-REPORT-Butterfly-Foundation-Investing-in-Need-cost-effective-interventions-for-eating-disorders-report.pdf

  • Green, J., & Tones, K. (1999). For debate. Towards a secure evidence base for health promotion. Journal of Public Health, 21, 133–139. doi:10.1093/pubmed/21.2.133.

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  • Katz-Wise, S., Scherer, E. A., Calzo, J. P., Sarda, V., Jackson, B., Haines, J., & Austin, S. B. (2015). Sexual minority stressors, internalizing symptoms, and unhealthy eating behaviors in sexual minority youth. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. doi:10.1007/s12160-015-9718-z. Advance on-line publication.

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  • Levine, M. P., & McVey, G. (2015). Developing an ecological approach to eating disorders prevention: The Ontario project. In M. P. Levine & L. Smolak (Eds.), Handbook of eating disorders (Chapter 47). West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

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  • Levine, M. P., & Smolak, L. (2006). The prevention of eating problems and eating disorders: Theory, research, and practice. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

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  • McGorry, P., Bates, T., & Birchwood, M. (2013). Designing youth mental health services for the 21st century: Examples from Australia, Ireland and the UK. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 202(s54), s30–s35. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.112.119214.

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  • McVey, G. L., Walker, S. K., Beyers, J., Harrison, H., Russell-Mayhew, M. S., & Simkins, S. (2013). Integrating weight bias awareness and mental health promotion into obesity prevention delivery: A public health pilot study. CDC; Journal: Preventing Chronic Disease, 10, E54. doi:10.5888/pcd10.120185.

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  • Stice, E., Becker, C. B., & Yokum, S. (2013). Eating disorder prevention: Current evidence-base and future directions. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46, 478–485. doi:10.1002/eat.22105.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ontario Community Outreach Program for Eating Disorders, University Health Network, 200 Elizabeth St., M5G 2C4, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Gail L. McVey & Julia Antonini

  2. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Gail L. McVey

Authors
  1. Gail L. McVey
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  2. Julia Antonini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gail L. McVey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Tracey Wade

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© 2016 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada

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McVey, G.L., Antonini, J. (2016). Universal Prevention. In: Wade, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_155-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_155-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-087-2

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