Eating disorders are so common in Massachusetts that if the crowd at a sold-out Fenway Park represented a random sample of the state's population, those in attendance with a diagnosed eating disorder would fill section 41, the large area of the bleachers behind the Red Sox bullpen.
The true prevalence is probably much higher, as this tip-of-the-iceberg statistic excludes individuals who do not seek treatment, those whose doctors fail to make the diagnosis, and people whose symptoms are subclinical yet still damaging.
Unfortunately, despite their prevalence and danger, eating disorders often do not receive the attention and serious discussion that they deserve. Our society's focus on the "war on obesity" not only distracts us from our eating disorder problem, but also contributes to it. When someone sets out to lose weight, they are statistically more likely to end up with a diagnosed eating disorder rather than thin.
Earlier this month, Joanne attended the Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA) annual conference. As some of you already know, MEDA is a wonderful resource that helps eating disorder sufferers down the road to recovery. This month, we put other topics aside so we can focus on what Joanne learned at the conference.
Thanks,
Jonah Soolman, Registered Dietitian / Co-Owner
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MEDA Conference
On May 14th, I attended the 21st annual two-day conference held by the Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA). This year's conference theme was "Thinking Outside the Body: Empowering Yourself, Your Clients and the Community." I thought it would be helpful to summarize some of what I learned.
Read More
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Nutrition Talks
Late last month, Jonah sat down with the practitioners at
Kennedy Brothers Physical Therapy to discuss the nutrition-related issues that often arise in their work.
If your practice, company, team, club, religious organization, or other such group would like one or both of us to come and deliver a free talk on nutrition,
let us know.
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