SIG Chair: Eating Disorders, Adolescents

Allison M Mallowe, RD

Therese S Waterhous, PhD RD

Hi and Happy New year to everyone in this Special Intrest Group. This SIG hopes to promote evidenced based treatment for adolescent eating disorders and disseminate up to date information about eating disorders of all types. We also hope to encourage Registered Dietitians to seek special training in this area and advocate for our inclusion on teams dedicated to treating eating disorders in the pediatric population.

We hope to share resources as well as information. Please do use the forum for news, information sharing and questions.

Best,

Therese S. Waterhous PhD, RD,LD

Nutrition Consultant, Private Practice

Corvallis, OR 97330-1104

Friday, November 19, 2010 at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Starting with a Pre-Conference on Thursday November 18, 2010; topics on NCP and Motivational Interviewing.  The main conference is designed to provide current information on nutritional management of the pediatric population. This one-day symposium will include keynote lectures, case studies, and breakout sessions. Topics of interest for the EDA SIG include: Childhood Obesity, Experience from the Healthy Weight Program, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome,  and Vegetarian Children and Teens: A Growing Population.

The March 2009 issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders (42:2, 97-103, 2009) has an important position paper by well known researchers in the field of eating disorders, defining eating disorders as serious mental illnesses.

This paper provides a brief review of the compelling evidence that eating disorders are biologically based, heritable illnesses and in doing so paves the way for these disorders to be viewed differently by insurance agancies and clinicians.  It will be a call for clinicians, including Registered Dietitians, to review and update their clinical practice guidelines.

For anyone wanting up to date information about evidenced based treatment for adolescents with Eating Disorders go to this new site:

www.FEAST-ED.org

They have research articles, advice, maps of providers, international reach and are advocates for safe and sane treatment.