Given the stresses of the past 18 months, it’s unsurprising that eating disorders are on the rise – and that’s especially true among adolescents. This presents challenges to many physicians, in part because eating disorders can be difficult to recognize – and also because effective treatment can be hard to find. Yet, research shows if you seek professional help within the first three years of when the eating disorder develops—before it becomes an entrenched chronic health problem—treatment is more likely to be successful. Says Janet Lydecker, PhD, director of child eating and weight initiatives for Yale’s POWER Program, “With kids, we know that if binge-eating starts when they're a teen, it's likely to continue, especially in late high school and then college when they are figuring out how their life is going to be patterned.”
POWER offers a variety of clinical trials for children and adults focusing on such areas as the use of medications to treat binge-eating, plus such treatments as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). A new treatment trial is examining behavioral and/or medication treatments for adults with loss-of-control eating—the central feature of binge-eating—following bariatric surgery.
For information on becoming a participant in a POWER research study for adults or children, complete and submit their form or call 203-785-7210.