{"id":20550,"date":"2021-04-09T09:02:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T13:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/?p=20550"},"modified":"2021-10-25T16:32:46","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T20:32:46","slug":"eating-disorders-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"‘An attempt to gain control’: Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While the majority of the focus during the pandemic has been on COVID-19 itself, people living with eating disorders have continued to struggle \u2014 often in the shadows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mental health and eating disorder experts around the world are reporting a spike<\/a> in eating disorders and disordered eating behaviours related to stress<\/a> caused by the pandemic, especially in young<\/a> people and adolescents<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A report released in June<\/a> found that the pandemic has created a global context that is likely to increase eating disorder risk and symptoms, and decrease factors that protect against eating disorders, including access to care.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Factors like social isolation, concerns around food security and changes in school and work structures can all affect disordered eating habits, says Jane Alway, the president of the Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals<\/a> (OAMHP) and a registered psychotherapist who treats people with eating disorders. Throw in media messaging around pandemic-related weight gain and exercise tips and you have an environment that can be incredibly triggering for someone with a history of disordered eating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re in such a climate of uncertainty. Eating disorders or disordered eating are rarely just about food; it’s an attempt to gain control,\u201d Alway says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a pandemic where so many of us are feeling a lack of control, you can understand why symptoms would either start up or worsen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eating disorders are a mental illness, and there are different types of them<\/a> including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. While women and teen girls are often depicted as being the most affected by eating disorders, anyone can develop one and they can look different depending on the person. More men have been speaking out<\/a> about their eating disorder experiences<\/a> during the pandemic, helping shed stigma on an often taboo topic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eating disorders and disordered eating habits exist on a spectrum. Even if someone does not meet the formal diagnosis criteria for an eating disorder, they could be experiencing distressing disordered eating behaviours, the National Initiative for Eating Disorders (NIED) points out<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of getting help remains true for anyone struggling, Alway says. This is especially important when stress from the pandemic \u2014 whether that be loss of work, changing pressures at home or declining mental well-being \u2014 are worsening symptoms or triggering distressing eating behaviours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With support groups and therapy sessions limiting in-person meetings due to the pandemic, online help has never been more important. Alway uses VirtualCare to connect with patients remotely, and is one of the many mental health providers that relies on the service to continue to treat Canadians across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHelp is still possible and extremely important. If somebody can connect with a practitioner virtually, then they can gain coping tools during the pandemic and beyond to allow them to manage what’s going on,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile it’s never too late to get help, the earlier that somebody does get help, the better the chances are of recovery.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Factors like social isolation, concerns around food security and changes in school and work structures can all affect disordered eating habits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[363,514,426,432,367],"class_list":["post-20550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-covid19","tag-eating-disorders","tag-mental-health","tag-ontario-association-of-mental-health-professionals","tag-pandemic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n'An attempt to gain control': Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic - Think Research Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Factors like social isolation, concerns around food security and changes in school and work structures can all affect disordered eating habits.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'An attempt to gain control': Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic - Think Research Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Factors like social isolation, concerns around food security and changes in school and work structures can all affect disordered eating habits.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Think Research Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TRChealth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-09T13:02:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-25T20:32:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"803\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Think Research\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@trchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@trchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Think Research\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Think Research\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ef6ba5b79403636ee5e4a10045973d61\"},\"headline\":\"‘An attempt to gain control’: Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-09T13:02:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-25T20:32:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/\"},\"wordCount\":505,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png\",\"keywords\":[\"COVID19\",\"eating disorders\",\"mental health\",\"Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals\",\"pandemic\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/\",\"name\":\"'An attempt to gain control': Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic - Think Research Canada\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-09T13:02:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-25T20:32:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"Factors like social isolation, concerns around food security and changes in school and work structures can all affect disordered eating habits.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png\",\"width\":803,\"height\":536,\"caption\":\"Doctor talking to patient virtually using a laptop\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/category\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"‘An attempt to gain control’: Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/\",\"name\":\"Think Research Canada\",\"description\":\"Rethinking the future of health care\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Think Research\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/10\/LogoforBlog-01.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/10\/LogoforBlog-01.png\",\"width\":1025,\"height\":684,\"caption\":\"Think Research\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TRChealth\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/trchealth\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thinkresearch\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/thinkresearch\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ef6ba5b79403636ee5e4a10045973d61\",\"name\":\"Think Research\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/065648787c39d2e4e4eed71f3f6041ca3009f2d472da140c31892ae2567cb581?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/065648787c39d2e4e4eed71f3f6041ca3009f2d472da140c31892ae2567cb581?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Think Research\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'An attempt to gain control': Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic - Think Research Canada","description":"Factors like social isolation, concerns around food security and changes in school and work structures can all affect disordered eating habits.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'An attempt to gain control': Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic - Think Research Canada","og_description":"Factors like social isolation, concerns around food security and changes in school and work structures can all affect disordered eating habits.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/","og_site_name":"Think Research Canada","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TRChealth\/","article_published_time":"2021-04-09T13:02:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-10-25T20:32:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":803,"height":536,"url":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Think Research","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@trchealth","twitter_site":"@trchealth","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Think Research","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/"},"author":{"name":"Think Research","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ef6ba5b79403636ee5e4a10045973d61"},"headline":"‘An attempt to gain control’: Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic","datePublished":"2021-04-09T13:02:04+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-25T20:32:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/"},"wordCount":505,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png","keywords":["COVID19","eating disorders","mental health","Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals","pandemic"],"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/","name":"'An attempt to gain control': Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic - Think Research Canada","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png","datePublished":"2021-04-09T13:02:04+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-25T20:32:46+00:00","description":"Factors like social isolation, concerns around food security and changes in school and work structures can all affect disordered eating habits.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/04\/Mar17Blog-01.png","width":803,"height":536,"caption":"Doctor talking to patient virtually using a laptop"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/2021\/04\/09\/eating-disorders-pandemic\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/category\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"‘An attempt to gain control’: Eating disorders of concern during the pandemic"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/","name":"Think Research Canada","description":"Rethinking the future of health care","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#organization","name":"Think Research","url":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/10\/LogoforBlog-01.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/10\/LogoforBlog-01.png","width":1025,"height":684,"caption":"Think Research"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TRChealth\/","https:\/\/x.com\/trchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thinkresearch\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/thinkresearch"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ef6ba5b79403636ee5e4a10045973d61","name":"Think Research","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/065648787c39d2e4e4eed71f3f6041ca3009f2d472da140c31892ae2567cb581?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/065648787c39d2e4e4eed71f3f6041ca3009f2d472da140c31892ae2567cb581?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Think Research"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thinkresearch.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}