See the Change, Be the Change
The hopeful approach to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders.
Although we’re finally beginning to see the light at the end of the long, dark COVID-19 tunnel (I write hopefully), our health and wellbeing has been dealt a blow that goes much deeper and could last much longer than the pandemic itself. Mental health disorders have surged during the past couple of years. And on this eve of the first day of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, I want to take the time to go a little deeper on this one devastating mental health condition.
I’ll start with President Biden’s recent proclamation on National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. It states that “nearly 1 in 10 Americans is expected to develop an eating disorder in their lifetime”. It goes on to underscore the challenges brought on by the pandemic, like the 70% spike in call and chat volume to national eating disorder hotlines, and the doubling of hospitalizations for eating disorders. These statistics are grim, but the fact that shame and social stigma will prevent many sufferers of eating disorders from seeking treatment feels even more dire. Awareness and advocacy of eating disorders and the resources needed to combat them is a good first step, which is why the NEDAWARENESS WEEK campaign is so important. You can find many resources on how to get involved (at whatever level feels right for you) on the campaign homepage.
Working from the other end of the awareness spectrum — in a seemingly good way — the social media platform, TikTok, will be updating its community guidelines around eating disorders and disordered eating. In their former (and still current) iteration, the guidelines banned content that actively promoted eating disorders. The update on March 7th will shift the ban to include all content that promotes any form of disordered eating. That is to say that many videos featuring harmful eating patterns and behaviors (like fasts, cleanses, and overexercising) will be or have already been deleted from the platform. This distinction the company is working towards is an important one, but as Lillian Stone for The Takeout points out, it will be a tough one for it to uphold. “[T]erms like ‘health,’ ‘wellness,’ and ‘cleanse’ are so normalized as part of diet culture” that preventing every influencer or would-be wellness TikToker from creating harmful eating-related content seems impossible. Then of course there are the beauty and body image standards to which we’re all consistently exposed on a daily basis. Even TikTok’s Head of Trust and Safety, Cormac Keenan, wrote, “[t]his is an incredibly nuanced area that's difficult to consistently get right.” At the very least, they’re trying.
Treatment and access to treatment for eating disorders also seem to be progressing. A new telehealth startup, Equip, has just raised $58 million and plans to roll out its service nationwide by midyear. The founders, Kristina Saffran and Dr. Erin Parks, were both diagnosed with eating disorders when they were younger. And according to their founder story, they “were both fortunate to have parents who brought them to recovery using the techniques of Family Based Treatment (FBT).” This outpatient approach to treatment is designed to help families work with their children in their homes to support them through recovery. Now with Equip’s help, patients and their families can receive longterm, comprehensive telehealth treatment that provides access to a therapist, a dietician, a doctor, and peer and family mentors. Moreover, Equip is working with health insurance companies to ensure their services are covered through most of the major players. This team & family based approach to eating disorder treatment sure does hold a lot of promise.
If all these different pieces (awareness, social media moderation, and comprehensive treatment) can come together, the future holds promise for anyone suffering from an eating disorder, as well as their family members. As someone who spent 10 years suffering, I am sure hoping for the best.
Charlotte, thank you so very much for this thoughtful article on such a critical topic and for the courage of your self-disclosure. I hope that speaking out is empowering for you. As a dietitian who has helped many people with eating disorders in my 40 year career, I delight in reading your foodie writing that comes across with joy and appreciation. Food is supposed to be one of life’s great pleasures! Humans come in all shapes & sizes, not all of us are meant to be lean. Please be well.