Posts Tagged “Research”

The ongoing government shutdown—now the longest in U.S. history—has disrupted critical nutrition assistance programs. 

For the first time in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) 60-year history, benefits were not issued as scheduled on November 1st, impacting 42 million Americans. Federal action is underway to fund payments, but the timeline for distribution varies by state, and there’s no guarantee of SNAP funding in December if the shutdown continues. Support for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) also remains uncertain.

At The Emily Program, we recognize the serious implications of this crisis for our community. Eating disorders don’t discriminate by income, and many of the people we serve rely on SNAP, WIC, and other programs to meet their basic food needs. We know that sudden changes to food access can be particularly destabilizing for those working hard in eating disorder recovery, on top of the stress and hardship these gaps in benefits bring for everyone affected.

Eating disorder recovery is challenging, and it’s never one-size-fits-all. Recovery isn’t linear because healing is a deeply personal process that happens in waves, not all at once. Making real, human progress takes time and effort. It’s common to take one step forward and two steps back.

Sometimes, old behaviors return in the form of a lapse or relapse. While this aspect of recovery can be frustrating, it’s important to remember that the “correct” path to recovery is the one that you’re already on. The more you can let go of comparing yourself to others or wishing for a smoother journey, the more you can truly and meaningfully focus on healing and mending your relationship with food and body.

Eating disorders don’t have a single cause. They develop from a mix of biological, psychological, and social factors. One important factor that often gets overlooked is food insecurity—the lack of reliable access to enough safe, nutritious food.

When food is unpredictable, eating patterns shift. People may skip meals, eat past fullness when food becomes available, or fall into long-term cycles of restriction and bingeing. These patterns can disrupt hunger and fullness cues, fuel emotional distress, and increase the risk of an eating disorder or make recovery more challenging.

Yet outdated stereotypes about who struggles with eating disorders often prevent those facing food insecurity from getting help. Eating disorders affect people of all sizes, backgrounds, and incomes. If providers don’t recognize the role of food insecurity, they may miss a critical piece of the puzzle.

Below, we’ll explore how food insecurity and eating disorders overlap, how to screen for food insecurity, and how to integrate food access support into treatment. Addressing both together can help people heal their relationship with food and find lasting recovery.

These days, it’s nearly impossible to scroll through social media or turn on your TV without seeing ads for GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. Originally developed for Type 2 diabetes, these medications are now aggressively marketed for weight loss.

But behind their rising popularity lies a more complicated reality—one that raises concerns for those at risk of or recovering from eating disorders. Appetite suppression and rapid weight loss can reinforce disordered behaviors, disrupt recovery, and validate harmful cultural messages about body size and self-worth.

**Content warning: This blog includes mention of suicide. Please use your discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, help is available through The Trevor Project or by texting or calling 988.

At The Emily Program, we know that the journey to healing is deeply personal. We’re committed to creating a world where every individual feels seen, respected, and supported along their recovery path. For transgender and non-binary individuals, the road to recovery from an eating disorder can come with unique and often painful challenges—layered with identity-related stigma, trauma, and the complex relationship between body dysphoria and dysmorphia.

These experiences can make recovery feel out of reach, especially as access to inclusive care for transgender individuals is increasingly under threat.

The Emily Program’s Penny Gautreaux (she/they), MSW, LICSW, a CARE program therapist out of Ohio, and Val Ashby (she/her), MA, LPCC-S, an outpatient therapist in Cleveland, embody our commitment to affirming care. Penny, a transwoman in recovery, knows firsthand how the feeling of “being a stranger in one’s own body” can impact healing. Val, who describes herself as a fat, cis, queer, White woman, brings a grounded understanding of what it means to both experience and lack privilege. Together, their insights help us explore why transgender and non-binary individuals face elevated risks for eating disorders—and how supportive networks can make all the difference.

You don’t know what to do. You’ve never had to worry about your twelve-year-old son before. His school report cards consistently reflect his conscientiousness, situating him comfortably at the top of his classes. He demonstrates the same drive outside the classroom, where he’s established himself as a dependable scorer for the school’s soccer team.

But something’s been off lately, giving you a gnawing feeling in your gut. Your son seems to be regressing to the picky eating of his childhood. His palette is increasingly limited these days, and he alleges digestive problems when asked to gather with the family for dinner. He used to have a tight-knit group of friends, but recently has been declining birthday party invitations and isolating himself. His soccer coach has called you and suggested your son take a leave from the team—he fainted during this evening’s practice.

You know you need to act, but you’re facing pushback from your son. He meets your concerns with heightened defensiveness, firmly denying that anything is wrong. He’s doubling down on his already rigid study schedule, convinced that any disruptions will derail his high-achieving track. You understand that school can wait, but you’re struggling to get your son on board with taking the time for treatment. Is it possible his reaction and this resistance are related to his unusual food behaviors? You reason it would be easier for him to continue his top performance if he wasn’t battling these food issues, but you can’t be sure. You need guidance from those who have walked this path before—that’s where we come in.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating that includes regular periods of fasting. Unlike traditional diets, intermittent fasting does not include any rules on what foods “should” or “should not” be eaten; instead, it specifies when and when not to eat. Participants limit their eating to a certain window of time—for example, only eight hours per day or even alternate days of the week—and do not eat for the remainder of the time.

In the last several years, the trend of intermittent fasting has become increasingly popular. Proponents of intermittent fasting tout its promises of improved health and weight loss. However, the notable dangers of intermittent fasting are often left out in conversations about the subject. The risks of intermittent fasting may not be readily apparent in our society that celebrates weight loss at any cost, so in this article, we will cover the potential negative side effects of intermittent fasting, including the dangers for those at risk of or suffering from an eating disorder.

Eating disorders are complex illnesses for both the individuals who experience them and the professionals who seek to treat them. Among the complicating factors is that they seldom exist in isolation. Many people suffering from anorexia, bulimia, BED, and other eating disorders also experience other mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, substance use disorders, or a history of trauma.

The high prevalence of anxiety and depression among those with eating disorders hints at a biological connection between these conditions. Further research is needed to fully understand this relationship—to discern whether anxiety and depression are distinct diagnoses independent of eating disorders or if they are intricately intertwined outcomes of the same underlying biological factors. It’s also possible that these conditions are correlated to the change in brain chemistry that occurs with starvation, bingeing, purging, and/or other eating disorder behaviors.