April 2009 Archive
Academy for Eating Disorders ICED 2009
04.30.09
As many of you may already know, the Academy for Eating Disorders cancelled their 2009 conference in Cancun this week due to the swine flu outbreak.
I was among many professionals disappointed to miss the conference, an annual meeting chock full of cutting edge research, clinical information and a wonderful professional community.
Cancellation of the conference was a brave and difficult decision. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Academy for Eating Disorders president, Judith Banker and all Board members for their leadership during this difficult time as well as throughout the past year.
U.S. Diets as a Torture Technique
04.23.09
Reported in the NY Times, Huffington Post and the F-Blog:
The Bush Administration used commercial diet plans to validate the calorie-restricted diets it fed prisoners who were being interrogated.
In a footnote to a May 10, 2005, memorandum from the Office of Legal Council, the Bush attorney general’s office argued that restricting the caloric intake of terrorist suspects to 1,000 calories a day was medically safe because people in the United States were dieting along those lines voluntarily.
“While detainees subject to dietary manipulation are obviously situated differently from individuals who voluntarily engage in commercial weight-loss programs, we note that widely available commercial weight-loss programs in the United States employ diets of 1,000 kcal/day for sustained periods of weeks or longer without requiring medical supervision,” the footnote reads. “While we do not equate commercial weight loss programs and this interrogation technique, the fact that these calorie levels are used in the weight-loss programs, in our view, is instructive in evaluating the medical safety of the interrogation technique.”
Ask yourself, why do we think it is okay to treat our OWN bodies the same way government officials treat prisoners being tortured? Why do we think we deserve to suffer?
Freedom to Support
04.20.09
Check out the new t-shirt and sweatshirts designed by Alex Rose Wiesel at www.freedomtosupport.com
Her line features vintage T’s, unisex sweatshirts and scarves featuring the freedom to logo- a broken circle- a sun with a seagull flying through. The symbol represents breaking the cycle of an eating disorder and flying free. The T-shirts are available in several colors highlighting inspirational words such as grow, conquer, support, love, and hope.
In addition to the great style and inspiration proceeds from your purchase support the Academy for Eating Disorders, an international global organization dedicated to the research, treatment and prevention of eating disorders.
Check out the site and buy something you will feel good wearing-your purchase may inspire yourself as well as the future of eating disorders!
Recent Data about EDs and Hospitalization
04.13.09
Acording to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:
-The number of men and women hospitalized due to eating disorders rose 18 percent between 1999 and 2006
-Hospitalizations for eating disorders rose most for children under 12 years of age – 119 percent. The second steepest rise was for patients ages 45 to 64 – 48 percent.
Hospitalizations for men also increased 37 percent – but women continued to dominate hospitalizations for eating disorders (89 percent in 2006).
These numbers continue to show that eating disorders are serious mental illnesses with profound physical complications. Adequate treatment and care is necessary. If left untreated, eating disorders can be fatal. Early intervention can improve treatment outcome.
These illnesses are treatable and resources are available. If you have questions about treatment contact Dr. Tippen.