Turning bold ideas into real progress for eating disorder prevention and treatment. Eating disorders are among the most serious mental health conditions. The field has made major strides in identifying risk factors, refining interventions, and building evidence-based treatments. Yet the reality remains stark: eating disorders continue to pose a critical public health challenge, and far too many people still lack access to effective care. This book brings together "big ideas" to close the gap between what science taught us and what still needs to happen to eradicate eating disorders. Leading scholars, clinicians, and individuals with lived experience share transformative strategies to reshape the field, from risk reduction to prevention to treatment. Big ideas move us forward, not in small steps, but in leaps. Each chapter highlights a key knowledge or practice gap, then lays out a bold concept designed to propel the field ahead, along with actionable steps to turn that vision into reality.
Ruth Striegel Weissman, PhD, is professor of psychology and Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, Emerita, at Wesleyan University, where she has taught since 1987. Her contributions to research and teaching have been recognized with awards including the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) Lifetime Achievement Award and the AED's Leadership Award for Research; the Research Award of the Coalition for Eating Disorders Research, Policy, and Action, and the New England Psychological Association's Distinguished Contribution Award. She is a past president of the Academy for Eating Disorders, and past president of the Eating Disorders Research Society. She currently serves as the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Kathleen M. Pike, PhD, is professor of psychology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where she launched her career in eating disorders over thirty years ago. A world expert in the field, Dr. Pike has served as President of the Eating Disorders Research Society and is a Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders. She is recognized for her pioneering work in developing innovative, evidence-based treatments and for her scientific contributions to expanding global understanding of eating disorders. Dr. Pike is also host of the podcast Big Ideas In Eating Disorders, where she talks with leaders in the field who share their ideas and stories as they have never been told before.
Foreword. Same Questions - New Answers Foreword. Catalyzing a Field: Lessons from Public Health Introduction: What's the Big Idea? Ruth Striegel Weissman and Kathleen M. Pike Part I. Transforming the Characterization and Identification of Feeding and Eating Disorders Chapter 1. What is an Eating Disorder?: A Re-imagining of the Diagnostic Spectrum of Eating Disorders Phillipa Hay and Deborah Mitchison Chapter 2. Bridging The Paradigm Divide: A Novel Framework for Pediatric Feeding and Eating Disorder Diagnosis and Intervention William G. Sharp and Kathryn M. Peterson Chapter 3. Muscles and Misdiagnosis: Introducing a Muscularity-Oriented Eating Disorder Phenotype Stuart B. Murray and Jason M. Nagata Chapter 4. Leveraging Social Media Algorithms to Improve Eating Disorder Screening Scott Griffiths and Roisin McNaney Part II. Elucidating Mechanisms involved in the Development and Maintenance of Feeding and Eating Disorders Chapter 5. Shaped by Society: Beyond a Culturalist Understanding of Eating Disorder Risk Anne E. Becker Chapter 6. Women's Reproductive Health Must be a Priority in Eating Disorders Research to Move the Field Forward Kelly L. Klump & Kristen M. Culbert Chapter 7. At What Cost: Understanding Binge-Type Eating Disorders Through the Lens of Cognitive Effort Laura A. Berner & Riley Macks Chapter 8. They're Called Eating Disorders for a Reason: The Study of Eating Behavior Is Key to Advance Science and Care B. Timothy Walsh Part III. Re-Envisioning Clinical Care Chapter 9. From Discovery to Clinical Utility: The Promise of Eating Disorders Genetics Cynthia M. Bulik Chapter 10. Uncovering the Brain's Response to Psychotherapy to Transform the Next Generation of Care for Eating Disorders Jennifer J. Thomas and Ashley Dunford Chapter 11. Recovery in Your Pocket: Transforming Eating Disorder Care with Smartphones Jake Linardon Chapter 12. Rethinking Early Intervention to Drive Better Health Outcomes Tracey D. Wade, Maya Jabs, Mia L. Pellizzer, Jamie-Lee Pennesi, Marcela Radunz, and Yuan Zhou Chapter 13. Leveraging Technology to Improve Screening, Early Detection, and Intervention for Eating Disorders at Scale Ellen E. Fitzsimmons-Craft, Laura D'Adamo, and Denise E. Wilfley Part IV. Transformational Policies for Prevention and Treatment of Feeding and Eating Disorders Chapter 14. From Data to Action: A Population Surveillance Framework to Improve Eating Disorder Policies and Outcomes Deborah Mitchison and Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz Chapter 15. Predicting Risk, Preventing Harm: Using Multilevel Spatial Methods to Counter Political and Commercial Drivers of Eating Disorders S. Bryn Austin, Ariel Beccia, and Lingbo Liu Chapter 16. An Enhanced Bolder Model for Building Advocacy into Researching, Preventing, and Treating the Eating Pathology Spectrum Michael P. Levine Part V. Accelerating Research on Feeding and Eating Disorders Chapter 17. Formal Mathematical and Computational Modeling of Eating Disorders as Complex Dynamical Systems Shirley B. Wang and Adanya D. Johnson Chapter 18. The Digital Dilemma: A Research Agenda to Determine Why More Tools Haven't Meant Better Outcomes Stephanie Bauer and Markus Moessner Chapter 19. Personalized Pathways: Advancing Tailored Treatments in Eating Disorder Research Tracey Wade, Mia Pellizzer, Jamie-Lee Pennesi, Marcela Radunz & Yuan Zhou Chapter 20. Scientific Enterprise in the 21st Century: How Meta-Science Can and Will Propel the Field of Eating Disorder Research Forward Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz & Jake Linardon Conclusion: Generating Big Ideas to Transform the Eating Disorders Landscape Kathleen M. Pike & Ruth S. Weissman
