skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump considers replacing Pete Hegseth, his embattled defense secretary pick, with Ron DeSantis; More support needed for over half-million WI family caregivers; Free, unbiased health insurance help available for Ohioans; Fungi help MS farmers unlock 'secrets' of healthy soil.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

GOP Senators voice reservations about Kash Patel, Trump's FBI pick. President Biden continues to face scrutiny over pardoning his son. And GOP House members gear up for tough budget fights, possibly targeting important programs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Limited access to community resources negatively impacts rural Americans' health, a successful solar company is the result of a Georgia woman's determination to stay close to her ailing grandfather and Connecticut is looking for more ways to cut methane emissions.

Specialists Raise Awareness During Eating Disorder Week

play audio
Play

Tuesday, February 28, 2023   

An estimated 291,000 Iowans suffer from eating disorders, which range from mild to lethal.

Experts are spreading knowledge and information during National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and calling for additional education, funding and research to combat the problem.

Researchers have not been able to pin down exactly what causes eating disorders, which can range from an unhealthy relationship with food to a lethal obsession with overeating, under-eating, or both; often at the same time.

Lauren Smolar, vice president of mission and education for the National Eating Disorders Association, said the illnesses can show up in a variety of ways, including someone abruptly eating drastically greater or lesser amounts of food than they typically do.

"It could also mean that they are not interested in eating meals with other people anymore," Smolar pointed out. "Drastic changes in shape or weight can be a warning sign of an eating disorder. But even cause for concern can be just changes in mood and shifts in attitudes; the way that they're talking about foods."

One thing researchers agree on is eating disorders are a mental illness, not a choice, and while people often assume young, white females are most frequently afflicted, anorexia and bulimia nervosa, along with a host of other eating disorders, do not discriminate and are common in both genders of varying ages and ethnic groups.

Smolar noted the pandemic heightened awareness of eating disorders and other mental health issues, but added, despite some progress, there is still precious little research, funding and social acceptance of eating disorders as lethal mental illnesses the way, for example, cancer is accepted as a deadly disease.

"But you can see cancer on a physical screening, whereas it's a little harder to show that an eating disorder is there, in essence," Smolar observed. "There is still a lot to be learned about brain chemistry and rewiring of brains and how mental health works, and it's much more normalized to talk about it, but there's just a lot more education that needs to be done."

Smolar said because health care workers are not required to learn about eating disorders as part of their training, early detection is also lacking. The American Society for Nutrition reports more than 10,000 people die each year from eating disorders, the second most lethal mental illness, behind only opioid addiction.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Research on the effects of a school voucher program in Louisiana show academic performance decreased among kids who use vouchers to attend private schools. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

In this week's 2026 budget address, Gov. Kristi Noem proposed establishing education savings accounts for K-12 students in South Dakota. Opponents …


Environment

play sound

The most current study from the Environmental Protection Agency estimated more than 143 million Americans are at risk of drinking water tainted with P…

Social Issues

play sound

Maryland has one of the highest percentages in the nation of people in prison who began serving time when they were juveniles. A new report from …


The unpaid care provided by more than 580,000 Wisconsin caregivers is valued at $9.2 billion, according to AARP. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

More than 580,000 Wisconsinites are unpaid family caregivers and they serve as the backbone of the state's long-term care system, and one …

Environment

play sound

A county high in the Colorado Rockies is working to include its underserved residents in plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the primary driver …

State officials say in 2023, Minnesota's workplace injury and illness rate fell to an all-time low. (Freepik)

Social Issues

play sound

There is promising news at the national level and in Minnesota in trying to lower workplace injuries and illnesses. A key labor organization is happy …

Social Issues

play sound

By Dakarai Turner for WISH-TV.Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the WISH-TV-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service…

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new report found New York hospitals are in a precarious financial state. The New York State Hospitals Fiscal Survey Report showed statewide …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021