Category: eating disorders

Are You Addicted to Laxatives?

Laxatives have been around for over 2000 years. They are drugs meant to be taken for a short time to relieve constipation. Long-term use, especially for losing weight, can lead to serious medical problems, including damage to your intestines and electrolyte imbalance due to dehydration. Who Uses Laxatives? Historically, those who use laxatives are trying…


New Childhood Obesity Guidelines May Cause Increase in Eating Disorders

An irreconcilable divide between the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and therapists and groups treating childhood eating disorders highlights the convoluted problem of childhood obesity amid a society where junk foods are cheap and plentiful and nutrition education is scarce. The AAP’s new guidelines are meant to advise doctors on stronger treatments for obese child patients,…


TikTok ‘Poisoning’ Vulnerable Young Minds by Promoting Eating Disorders, Self-Harm, and Suicide: Report

A new report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) reveals that Chinese social media platform TikTok is pushing harmful content involving self-harm and eating disorders into children’s feeds. In their study, the CCDH established accounts posing as 13-year-old teenagers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. One account in each nation…


Eating Disorders Can Begin as Early as Age 9

More young children may struggle with eating disorders than previously thought, a new study reveals. Data on nearly 12,000 U.S. children between the ages of 9 and 10 that was collected as part of a federally funded study found that 5% had engaged in binge eating, researchers reported. Another 2.5% had taken measures to avoid…


Study Finds Anorexia Causes ‘Sizeable Reductions’ in the Brain

Anorexia causes changes in the brain in ways much greater than seen in the brains of sufferers of other mental disorders, a UK study has found. The study by neuroscientists at the University of Bath has highlighted the importance of early treatment interventions for people suffering from anorexia. The study said that brain reductions in people…


Study Shows COVID-19 Exacerbates Eating Disorders

A major study has revealed the “detrimental” impact of COVID-19 on people who suffered from eating disorders in Australia, with 40 percent going undiagnosed. According to a survey of 1,723 Australians aged 16-80 years, taken from July to October 2020, all eating disorders symptoms have “increased,” particularly body image concerns (88 percent), food restriction (74 percent)…


Lawmakers Grill Facebook Over Leaked Internal Research on Instagram’s Harmful Impact on Teens

Facebook was heavily criticized by members of Congress on Thursday during a hearing examining how the social network giant handled internal research relating to its Instagram platform and how it can be harmful to the mental health of teenagers. Antigone Davis, Facebook’s global head of safety, was grilled for over three hours by lawmakers who accused…


Australia Launches First National Strategy for Eating Disorders as Lockdown Worsens Symptoms

The Morrison Government on Tuesday has unveiled Australia’s first national strategy to improve early identification and treatment and help prevent eating disorders, as the country sees an alarming surge in the diseases as a result of the protracted lockdowns. The new Australian Eating Disorder Research and Translation Strategy, developed through a $4 million federal grant…


Rates of Eating Disorders Surge Amid Pandemic

Doctors are seeing a surge in eating disorders across the country as people try to cope with the stress and anxiety induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Jennifer Wildes, an associate psychiatry professor and director of outpatient eating disorders program at the University of Chicago Medicine, says she’s “absolutely seeing massive increases.” Patients are waiting 4…


CCP Virus Pandemic Causing Rise in Eating Disorders in Children, Say Child Health Experts

Eating disorders among children in the UK have risen sharply during the CCP virus pandemic, child health experts have said, attributing it in part to increased stress, isolation, and increased social media use. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said on Monday that a “huge rise in cases of anorexia nervosa and other…