Can this Eating Disorder Study Transform Our Understanding of Mental Health?
This is a brief personal story and invite to participate in the world’s largest eating disorder study ever performed (skip to bottom for study info). Read on to learn more about the deadliest mental illness today; eating disorders.
I was diagnosed with bulimia nervosa as a teen, and thankfully received intensive treatment from a team of specialists shortly after I hit a version of rock bottom. I thank treatment for my life today. Eating disorders have the second highest mortality rate (second only to opiate abuse).
What else can I thank for life after my eating disorder? Incredibly supportive parents, a dog named Buddy, plant medicines and a discovery of yoga that are still guiding me to a path of embodiment and mending.
So, bulimia is a gross mental illness. And it’s grossly misunderstood. So are the other categories of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, orthorexia, or any combination of these.
While the recovery process is as unique as each individual who suffers from any eating disorder — so is the process of developing the disorder itself.
So, what causes eating disorders?
While the causes and experiences of eating disorders are widely misunderstood, it is known that food insecurity, abuse, or traumatic life events can trigger their onset.
So then, what happens to a population confronted with a pandemic, social isolation, job loss, food shortages, and massive supply chain disruption? Scarcity mindset spreads like wildfire, and for some folks, consequentially, it triggers disordered eating. Eating disorders thrive in social isolation.
And sadly, while the world continues grappling with this unprecedented pandemic of the COVID-19 virus infecting communities, increased rates of eating disorders are also on the rise. Receiving treatment is complicated, and the long-term efficacy of treatment is even more convoluted.
So, why are eating disorders so scary?
- The mental illness among the highest mortality rates is anorexia nervosa, killing about 10% of people diagnosed. (To help put this into perspective, the death rate for COVID-19 in the US was 15.9%, and it’s coined a PANDEMIC!)
- 28–74% of risk for eating disorders is through genetic heritability.
- Eating disorders are impacting the lives of at least 9% of the global population.
Eating disorders are serious, and hopefully these statistics help put their magnitude into perspective.
So, will things get better? Or will they only get worse?
It’s hard to tell long-term how eating disorders will plague our society, or how our society will transform with heightened awareness to support, mitigate and treat mental illness in all forms.
Meet the Promising Global-Genetics Study
A research team at University of North Carolina (UNC) is pioneering the world’s largest eating disorder genetics study ever performed. Eating disorders don’t only affect teens and young adults, but also young children.
This is really exciting, because early-screening may help millions of people, and children, avert a life-threatening mental illness.
Study results can provide unprecedented insights into this stigmatized mental illness. I say stigmatized because there are beliefs that people “choose to have eating disorders”, which is simply not true. Ask anyone who has or has had one, it’s nothing to be wished upon anyone.
The study, Eating Disorder Genetics Initiative (EDGI), seeks to identify the genes that may influence a person’s likelihood of developing anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder by looking at our DNA. By collecting saliva samples, researchers are analyzing genotypes of people who’ve had eating disorders (diagnosed, and un-diagnosed) and comparing them to genotypes of a control group (people who’ve never had eating disorders).
Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the researchers are actively recruiting 100,000 study participants from around the world. EDGI is aiming for 6,000 Americans with first-hand eating disorder experience at any point in their lives to participate by March 31, 2022. If you or someone you know has suffered from an eating disorder please consider participating or sharing this survey!!!
By doing so, you’re helping improve future eating disorder treatment and prevention across the globe. There are no clear or easy answers. But for now, we have hope in the dedication of researchers for more answers into how our genetics influence lived experiences and expressed mental illnesses.
Lastly, when we suffer in silence, our pain consumes us. When we open a window to shed light on the pain (whatever those shattered bits and scar tissue feel like), there is a slow, steady healing process that can begin to take place. Reach out, connect to loved ones, and let this be a gentle reminder that there are people who care about you and your story. If you need support, there’s help.
Take care and be well 💓
Research Survey Link and Additional Info
Link to the survey. If you’d like to learn more, please reach out to the team at EDGI on their website.
Ariana Brandao is passionate about living well and exploring the forces of human behavior. She believes dogs are magic and the healing power of nature. While advocating for less-waste on the planet (consumerism is killing us, literally), she believes in the middle path. She’s studied in Anthropology, Geography, Yoga, Ethnobotany, and Digital Marketing. She’s inspired by the intersection of sustainable tech, ecology, human health, food, art & culture.
