The Chatty Dietitian

Today I chaired a meeting of dietitians from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland met to share their clinical expertise and participate in nominal group technique. We hope to have V2 of the dietetic guidelines regarding NGT feeding under physical restraint published in 2026.

New research project ☺️

Have you had anorexia nervosa yourself and have you also held a role where you provide treatment to others with anorexia? Have you also experienced your own treatment for anorexia ending early?

Please expand the poster below for more information-

Red Flags in Eating Disorder Recovery In eating disorder recovery, you might notice you’re taking two steps forward and one step back. This is often very normal and recovery is rarely a straight line. However, if you notice thing…

First blog post in a long long time! Here are some red flags to look out for in your eating disorder recovery:

caras-corner.com/2025/02/05/r...

Calorie labels on menus could make eating disorders worse Calorie labels on restaurant menus are negatively impacting people with eating disorders, according to a new study.

Calorie labels on menus are negatively impacting people with eating disorders.

A new study from @kingsnmpc.bsky.social published in the BMJ Public Health found that people with eating disorders changed their behaviours if presented with calorie labels on a menu.

www.kcl.ac.uk/news/calorie...

Soaring mental health admissions for children leaving acute services under immense pressure There was a 65% increase in the number of children and young people being admitted to general acute medical wards in hospitals in England because of a mental health concern between 2012 and 2022.

2012-2022 saw a 65% increase in children admitted with mental health concerns.

There has been over 500% increase in admissions for CYP with eating disorders in the same time period.

This is THE health crisis of our time, and it is barely making the news.

#KidsMH

www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/...

Clinicians' Experiences of Eating Disorder Focused Family Therapy With Autistic Young People Objective Eating disorder focused family therapy (FT-ED) is the leading outpatient intervention for adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa. Autistic people report poorer eating disorder treatment experie...

New publication with @edaceatingautism.bsky.social, @eatsleeplaugh.bsky.social @emynimbley.bsky.social and others, qualitative study of clinicians experience of eating disorder focused family therapy (FBT or FT-AN) with Autistic young people and their families onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Nasogastric tube feeding under physical restraint: understanding the effects on parents and how to support them Nasogastric tube feeding under physical restraint: understanding the effects on parents and how to support them

Please find our latest paper on NGT feeding under restraint in England - the impact on parents and how nursing staff can support them.

journals.rcni.com/nursing-chil...

An in-depth look at eating disorders - In Conversation with Janet Treasure

New from ACAMH Learn - Professor Janet Treasure takes a deep dive into how eating disorders have changed in their form, epidemiology, and clinical and social features over the last 50 years acamhlearn.org/Learning/An_...

100% agree, most of the paediatric teams I've worked with really want to learn!

The dangers of fitness trackers — and when to stop using yours While the gadgets can motivate users wanting to shed a few pounds, they can also carry risks for those vulnerable to eating disorders and exercise addiction, charities say

I’m in The Times today talking about why fitness trackers can be so dangerous for people vulnerable to exercise addiction and eating disorders:

www.thetimes.com/uk/society/a...

The dietetic role within eating disorders teams can be undervalued. In this paper, we have tried to highlight the role senior dietitians can have.

cepip.org/article/eati...

I agree, and I'd love to study it more to find out how we can avoid doing this!

Important paper from Sarah Fuller, @dashanicholls.bsky.social and colleagues exploring the impact of the use of security staff in NGT feeding under restraint 👇

bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/1...

Please find our latest paper on ngt feeding under restraint in England's paediatric wards

bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/1...

Pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic disorder of gut-brain interaction that affects a large portion of the population.

This review focuses on the current evidence for common non-pharmaceutical treatments for #IBS, including the latest advances in care
www.bmj.com/content/387/...

Only once you've untangled all the wires and spent 2hr trying to connect to a printer 🤣

Dietetic colleagues across ED services often feel under-utilised and misunderstood.

This scoping survey concludes that dietitian’s in ED teams are under-represented and understaffed.

Improving therapeutic approaches to food work for people with ED’s starts here 👇

gpsych.bmj.com/content/37/6...

Scoping survey of dietetic resourcing for eating disorders: why is the dietitian’s role marginalised in community eating disorders? Eating disorders (EDs) like anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) are conditions characterised by severe and persistent disruptions in eating behaviours. Nutritional rehabilitation is the mai...

The findings of this scoping exercise support the view that dietitians are under-represented in CEDS-CYP and that staffing is not proportional to caseload in most CEDS...

gpsych.bmj.com/content/37/6...

When you say “you look well”, people with eating disorders might hear:

• you’ve gained weight
• you’re not sick
• you don’t need help
• your struggles aren’t valid
• you must be better
• you don’t deserve support
• you’re making it up
• you can stop gaining weight

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me… or will they? https://buff.ly/41lPsRZ

Laura Hemming looks at our language use around suicide, mental health concerns and alcohol and other drug use.

#MentalHealth #Suicide #Alcohol #Drugs #Language #Consensus

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

This is so helpful, last year I was worried about putting them on. Now I'm not! Returning to having them on 6am to 8am for the early starters.

Meaningful Associations Between Motivation for Treatment and Interpersonal Needs Within a Residential Sample of Women With Eating Disorders Objective Perceived burdensomeness (PB) and thwarted belongingness (TB), two proximal risk factors for suicide, may rise during residential eating disorder (ED) treatment when patients are separated...

📢 Check out @mbillmanmiller.bsky.social's new paper, which found that motivation for treatment and perceived burdensomeness reciprocally influenced one another over time in a residential eating disorder sample:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

All I want for Christmas is…

• eating disorder services to stop relying on BMI
• diet companies to stop preying on vulnerable people
• calories to be removed from menus
• all eating disorders to be taken seriously
• all body sizes to be accepted and appreciated
• eating disorder stigma to disappear

Some things not to comment on this Christmas:

- someone’s weight
- someone’s size
- how much they are eating
- how little they are eating
- the speed they are eating
- the type of foods they are eating
- the times they are eating
- your post Christmas diet
- how fat you feel

Children eating at school

New BMJ Investigation reveals widespread influence of food and drink brands in schools and nurseries—through breakfast clubs, nutrition guidance, and healthy eating campaigns.

Experts say the tactics require much greater scrutiny and pushback
www.bmj.com/content/387/...

😍😍😍

Breakfast clubs in schools ‘infiltrated by food industry’ Campaigners say the involvement of companies like Kellogg’s and Greggs normalises unhealthy foods for young children

Always nice to see an investigation picked up more widely - here’s my @bmj.com piece covered in @thetimes.com
Breakfast clubs in schools ‘infiltrated by food industry’

www.thetimes.com/article/46ac...

The Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI) Information Video YouTube video by Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative

Hi BlueSky!

We're EDGI UK, an online research study exploring the genetic and environmental influences of all eating disorders

Our study is open to anyone
⭐16+
⭐residing in England
⭐Has ever experienced an eating (diagnosis not required)

Join today: edgiuk.org

It’s the holiday season - a time of year when weight stigma runs particularly rampant - so we thought it’d be a great time to re-share this infographic debunking the myths of body mass index (BMI)!
We’ll continue to shout it from the rooftops:
‼️‼️BMI does NOT indicate health!‼️‼️