FAIRBURN, Christopher G.

PERSONAL:

Male.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Warneford Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 71X, England. E-mail—credo@medsci.ox.ac.uk.

CAREER:

Writer, psychiatrist, researcher, and educator. University of Oxford and Warneford Hospital, Oxford, England, consultant psychiatrist, Wellcome Trust senior lecturer, principal research fellow, and professor of psychiatry.

WRITINGS:

(With Mark G. Dickerson and Judy Greenwood) Sexual Problems and Their Management, foreword by John Bancroft, Churchill Livingstone (Edinburgh, Scotland), 1983.

(Editor, with G. Terence Wilson) Binge Eating: Nature, Assessment, and Treatment, Guilford Press (New York, NY), 1993.

(Editor, with Kelly D. Brownell) Eating Disorders and Obesity: A Comprehensive Handbook, foreword by Paul E. Garfinkel, Guilford Press (New York, NY), 1995, 2nd edition, 2002.

Overcoming Binge Eating, Guilford Press (New York, NY), 1995.

(Editor, with David M. Clark) The Science and Practice of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Zafra Cooper and Deborah M. Hawker) Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Obesity: A Clinician's Guide, Guilford Press (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Psychiatrist, author, and editor Christopher G. Fairburn is a consultant psychiatrist and a professor of psychiatry. A number of his books focus on eating disorders, such as binge eating and obesity, and their psychiatric treatment. Binge Eating: Nature, Assessment, and Treatment, edited by Fairburn and G. Terence Wilson, is what reviewer P.J.V. Beumont, writing in the Lancet, called an "excellent book with some outstanding reviews." Contributors cover topics such as the history of binge eating and the overall context of such behavior; the definition and classification of eating disorders; binge eating as it relates to clinical manifestations of bulimia nervosa; characteristics of binge eating in anorexia; the relationship between binge eating and addictive disorders; and psychobiological mechanisms of binge eating. Also included is a thorough review, by editors Fairburn and Zafra Cooper, of the Eating Disorders Examination, a proven clinical tool consisting of a "structured interview assessment of the specific psychopathology of bulimia and anorexia nervosa," Beumont noted. "All in all this is a most useful book, an absolute necessity for anyone with a serious interest in binge eating and bulimia nervosa, and an appropriate review for all clinicians who treat bulimic patients," Beumont concluded.

Eating Disorders and Obesity:

A Comprehensive Handbook, edited by Fairburn and Kelly D. Brownell, brings together in a single volume a diverse group of articles and synthesizes wide-ranging information on various aspects of eating disorders and resultant obesity in children and adults. The book "accomplishes its goal commendably," commented Christine Courbasson in CrossCurrents—The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health. The contributors cover areas related to physical and social elements of obesity and eating disorders, including regulation of eating and body weight; mental and physical components of dieting and body image; measurement and assessment of obesity and eating disorders; clinical characteristics of eating disorders; etiology and development of eating disorders; and prevention and treatment. Other topics discussed within the book have a direct impact on those who suffer from obesity and eating disorders, including night-eating syndrome, eating and addictive disorders, the effects of the Internet, stigma and discrimination, gender and ethnicity, and dieting. Reviewer Chris Eberhardie, writing in the Nursing Standard, called the book a "serious, comprehensive, and readable compendium" of information on obesity and its connection to eating disorders. Courbasson concluded: "This scholarly synthesis of knowledge reflects high-quality writing and editorial work, and is a must-have for researchers and academics and for clinicians involved in the care of clients with eating disorders and/or obesity."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

CrossCurrents—The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health, autumn, 2002, Christine Courbasson, review of Eating Disorders and Obesity: A Comprehensive Handbook, p. 19.

Lancet, August 13, 1994, P.J.V. Beumont, review of Binge Eating: Nature, Assessment, and Treatment, p. 461.

Nursing Standard, June 14, 2006, Chris Eberhardie, review of Eating Disorders and Obesity, p. 37.

ONLINE

University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry Web site,http://www.psychiatry.ox.ac.uk/ (September 23, 2006), profile of Christopher G. Fairburn.*