{"id":2597,"date":"2021-12-22T11:53:50","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T00:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edgi.nz\/?p=2597"},"modified":"2025-12-09T13:32:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T00:32:01","slug":"surge-of-people-reaching-out-for-eating-disorder-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/2021\/12\/22\/surge-of-people-reaching-out-for-eating-disorder-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Surge of people reaching out for eating disorder help"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is\u00a0mounting\u00a0information\u00a0to\u00a0show\u00a0that\u00a0more people are experiencing disordered eating,\u00a0especially\u00a0in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0Our response to the pandemic has created an\u00a0space\u00a0for eating disorders\u00a0to\u00a0emerge\u00a0or worsen.\u00a0Because of the\u00a0pandemic,\u00a0we\u00a0are\u00a0likely\u00a0to\u00a0experience\u00a0increased\u00a0negative feelings and changes in the way we socialise and think<\/span>1<\/span>,\u00a0which\u00a0can\u00a0lead to disordered\u00a0eating\u00a0for\u00a0many\u00a0people.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An increase in eating disorder referrals\u00a0has been\u00a0seen\u00a0around\u00a0the\u00a0world since\u00a0the\u00a0emergence of\u00a0of\u00a0COVID-19.\u00a0Within the\u00a0United States and the Netherlands,\u00a0people\u00a0with eating disorders reported a\u00a0worsening of\u00a0their symptoms,\u00a0and some\u00a0of those\u00a0in the United States\u00a0experienced barriers when trying to\u00a0access\u00a0treatment<\/span>2<\/span>.\u00a0During April of 2020, a\u00a0survey\u00a0in\u00a0Australia\u00a0indicated that\u00a0those\u00a0reporting an eating disorder history\u00a0experienced increases in their symptoms<\/span>1<\/span>.\u00a0Researchers from the\u00a0University of Auckland\u00a0also\u00a0found a\u00a0considerable\u00a0increase in the referral and admissions to Waikato Hospital following the nationwide lockdown<\/span>4<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Specialist services in Aotearoa were stretched thin\u00a0long\u00a0before the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of the\u00a0pandemic,\u00a0the\u00a0resulting\u00a0surge in referrals will put already busy specialist services under even more pressure to meet demand for treatment.\u00a0In these difficult times, it is clear that more resources are needed to ensure accessible, timely, and effective\u00a0options\u00a0for those with eating disorders.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To\u00a0effecively care for these individuals,\u00a0we\u00a0also\u00a0need to\u00a0further our knowledge about the biology of eating disorders<\/span>3<\/span>.\u00a0This is\u00a0essential\u00a0within the Aotearoa context, where more research into biological and environmental risk factors is\u00a0needed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the\u00a0waves of\u00a0the\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0pandemic\u00a0have\u00a0been\u00a0felt through\u00a0Aotearoa, we\u00a0are\u00a0making\u00a0steady progress\u00a0in a\u00a0major\u00a0research project\u00a0called\u00a0the\u00a0Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI).This project is\u00a0funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (USA) as part of an international consortium including the USA, Denmark and Australia.\u00a0Long-term,\u00a0the EDGI research\u00a0will help us to understand more about eating disorders so that people might be able to create more effective treatment options.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To read more about this exciting research and the Aotearoa branch of this study, go to our homepage (<\/span>https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/<\/span><\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0If you are concerned about\u00a0your eating, please contact your GP or health practicioner.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Phillipou, A., Meyer, D., Neill, E., Tan, E. J., Toh, W. L., Van\u00a0Rheenen, T. E., & Rossell, S. L. (2020). Eating and exercise\u00a0behaviors\u00a0in eating disorders and the general population during the COVID\u201019 pandemic in Australia: Initial results from the COLLATE project.\u202f<\/span>International Journal of Eating Disorders<\/span><\/i>,\u202f<\/span>53<\/span><\/i>(7), 1158-1165.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Termorshuizen, J. D., Watson, H. J., Thornton, L. M., Borg, S., Flatt, R. E.,\u00a0MacDermod, C. M., … & Bulik, C. M. (2020). Early impact of COVID\u201019 on individuals with self\u2010reported eating disorders: A survey of~ 1,000 individuals in the United States and the Netherlands.\u202f<\/span>International Journal of Eating Disorders<\/span><\/i>,\u202f<\/span>53<\/span><\/i>(11), 1780-1790.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Flynn, M., Austin, A., Lang, K., Allen, K.,\u00a0Bassi, R., Brady, G., Brown, A.,\u00a0Connan, F., Franklin\u2010Smith, M., Glennon, D., Grant, N., Jones, W. R., Kali, K.,\u00a0Koskina, A., Mahony, K., Mountford, V., Nunes, N.,\u00a0Schelhase, M.,\u00a0Serpell, L., & Schmidt,\u00a0U.\u00a0(2021). Assessing the impact of First Episode Rapid Early Intervention for Eating Disorders on duration of untreated eating disorder: A multi\u2010centre quasi\u2010experimental study.\u202f<\/span>European Eating Disorders Review<\/span><\/i>,\u202f<\/span>29<\/span><\/i>(3), 458\u2013471.\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/erv.2797<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. Hansen, S.J.,\u00a0Stephan, A., and\u00a0Menkes, D.B. (2021)\u00a0The\u00a0impact\u00a0of\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0on\u00a0eating\u00a0disorder\u00a0referrals\u00a0and\u00a0admissions\u00a0in\u00a0Waikato,\u00a0New\u00a0Zealand.\u00a0<\/span>Journal\u00a0of\u00a0eating\u00a0disorders.<\/span><\/i>\u00a09(105), 3-10.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40337-021-00462-0<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          There is\u00a0mounting\u00a0information\u00a0to\u00a0show\u00a0that\u00a0more people are experiencing disordered eating,\u00a0especially\u00a0in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0Our response to the pandemic has created an\u00a0space\u00a0for eating disorders\u00a0to\u00a0emerge\u00a0or worsen.\u00a0Because of the\u00a0pandemic,\u00a0we\u00a0are\u00a0likely\u00a0to\u00a0experience\u00a0increased\u00a0negative feelings and changes in the way we socialise and think1,\u00a0which\u00a0can\u00a0lead to disordered\u00a0eating\u00a0for\u00a0many\u00a0people.\u00a0\u00a0 An increase in eating disorder referrals\u00a0has been\u00a0seen\u00a0around\u00a0the\u00a0world since\u00a0the\u00a0emergence of\u00a0of\u00a0COVID-19.\u00a0Within the\u00a0United States and the Netherlands,\u00a0people\u00a0with eating disorders reported a\u00a0worsening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27392,"featured_media":2601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27392"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2597\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/edgi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}