Eating disorders – such as anorexia and bulimia – are deadly, disabling mental health conditions affecting 1 in every 6 females, and 1 in 20 males in the UK.
Obesity affects 10% of UK children aged 4-5 years, rising to 20% in those aged 10-11 years, and nearly 30% of UK adults.
The prevalence of eating disorders and obesity is rising, and these increases disproportionately affect deprived and ethnic minority populations.
Whilst UK policy aims to include prevention and early intervention for eating disorders and obesity, efforts are not joined-up. Available treatments are only moderately effective and not accessible for all.
Our theme in Eating Disorders & Obesity is building on our successful development of early interventions and new therapies to make them more tailored and scalable.
We take a joined-up approach to eating disorders and obesity, integrating converging evidence from our work showing that socioemotional factors, neurodevelopment, personality, and genetic influences jointly shape vulnerability, and working with the overlap in the psychosocial and neurobiological mechanisms that underlie these conditions, such as those involved in appetite; the factors that influence them, including genetics and societal demands; and the behaviours that maintain them.
Our theme takes a life-course perspective to account for the long-term and fluctuating nature of eating disorders and obesity.
Building on our expertise in complex interventions for mental health, we are continuing to develop novel ‘brain-directed’ neurocognitive and neuromodulation approaches such as transcranial magnetic stimulation.
In the digital sphere we are developing online/app-based and virtual/augmented reality approaches.
By combining multiple perspectives from lived experience, clinical and academic expertise we are co-creating precise interventions that are specific to the stage of the illness. They also have potential to be scalable and valuable to the NHS.
Nationally in the UK we collaborate with clinicians and academics via our FREED and Eating disorders clinical research networks and via various large multi-centre research endeavours, such as the UKRI funded EDIFY, IMAGEN, STRATIFY and ESTRA programmes. Internationally, we collaborate with researchers in Europe, North and South America, Australia and various Asian countries.
