Hard times for people with eating disorders

PEOPLE with eating disorders could be at risk of suffering longterm consequences from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, researchers have warned.

The fallout from routines being disrupted in lockdown, a focus on food and exercise which came to dominate the public conversation, and healthcare moving online, could all have lasting effects, academics from Northumbria University in Newcastle said.

While positive messaging around diet and fitness can be beneficial to most people, it is important to recognise these can be “triggering or upsetting” for others, their paper published in the Journal of Eating Disorders said.

The study looked at data from 129 people recruited online who were experiencing or in recovery from an eating disorder during the early stages of lockdown.

Participants, who were aged 16-65 and mostly female, were asked about the overall impact of the pandemic on their eating disorder symptoms, and 86.7% said they had become worse.

Researchers said they identified key themes, including disruption to living situations, increased social isolation and reduced access to usual support networks, changes to physical activity rates and changes to people’s relationship with food.

They said one of the major challenges faced by people with an eating disorder was a reduction in healthcare service provision, as well as discrepancies in access to healthcare services.

Some participants felt video calls, rather than the usual face-to-face appointments, were having a detrimental effect because seeing themselves on a screen made them more aware and more critical of their appearance.

The researchers recommended service providers assess the appropriateness of technologies for providing remote support.

Disruption to routine and perceived control was another issue for many, with one participant saying their lack of control over study, work and socialising had led to them focusing more on control around food.

Like much of the population, most people questioned said they had spent more time online in lockdown and 55% said the increase had made their eating disorder symptoms worse.

Researchers said lessons learned now could be relevant to other public health emergencies or for future circumstances where there may be periods of lockdown, food shortages or social isolation.