Conclusion

In conclusion, my bill was not passed at the end of this semester. As of right now it is stuck in committees, which scares me because past bills just like this one never made it out of committee. I have learned so much about eating disorders this semester and how many people are effected by them each year. They are truly silent killers because the subject is so taboo and it is a form of self mutilation. I had a lot of fun reading blogs and posting on them. I was disappoint on the government end of this project. I never got a response back from my sponsor. In the end, I hope this bill gets passed because this topic is near and dear to my heart. I really enjoyed blogging and hope I get a chance to do something like this again.

FREED ACT

U.S. Senators Harkin, Klobuchar, and Franken introduce bill

to confront eating disorders in the U.S.

For Immediate Release
Contact:
David Jaffe
Executive Director, EDC
202-543-9570

(Washington, D.C. - March 3, 2011) - The United States took an important step toward addressing the national emergency of eating disorders when Senators Tom Harkin, Amy Klobuchar, and Al Franken introduced the Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders (FREED) Act today.

“The FREED Act is the first legislative effort in the history of the Senate to comprehensively confront the seriousness and deadly threat of eating disorders in the United States. We are proud to have Senators Harkin, Klobuchar and Franken champion our cause,” said Jeanine Cogan, Policy Director of the Eating Disorders Coalition.

A coordinated national response like the FREED Act can help the millions of Americans suffering (and, too often, dying) from eating disorders.

“It has been ten years since anorexia killed my daughter Anna,” said EDC Board Member Kitty Westin. “And eating disorders have killed thousands of Americans since then. It’s time for Congress to pass the FREED Act as a critical first step in addressing this national emergency.”

Eating disorders do not discriminate: men and women, all economic classes, old and young are affected. Sadly, eating disorders even touch young children. According to a recent report in the December issue of PEDIATRICS, Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, hospitalizations for children with eating disorders under age 12 increased by a shocking 119% for the years 1999 to 2006.

The FREED Act would fund much needed research to better understand eating disorders and provides solutions for prevention, education, screening, diagnosis and treatment. Among other things, the legislation would fund grants to conduct research on treatment efficacy, train health professionals and school personnel to identify and respond to eating disorders, and build on existing reform efforts to ensure that treatment is available to those who need it.

Ten months ago, two days before she was to join the Eating Disorders Coalition citizen lobbying effort on Capitol Hill, a young woman from Pennsylvania named Nicole died in her sleep from her eating disorder. Nicole’s mother sadly states, “If the FREED Act was in place, I might still have my daughter with me today.” Nicole’s aunt, Wendy Bloom, added, “The FREED Act will stop the endless pain for millions of people. It will allow treatment for a disease without the fear of not completing their treatment because their insurance doesn't cover it. It will end the torment and pain of another mother burying her child because she couldn't afford treatment.”

This legislation is important to be passed just like my bill in the house. This article from the Eating Disorder Coalition for Research show peoples turn comments on how important this bill is to America. Also it has good stats on children with eating disorders which is key for my bill.

Other bills are related to topic

HB 1432 added Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia to the list of mental illnesses covered by the Illinois parity law. The bill was passed in 2008 and became effective January 1, 2009.

H.R.1448 - Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders Act of 2011

Passed Senate Bill 2354 requires the state Health Department to establish a program to assist in early recognition and intervention of eating disorders.

These are some other bills that a similar to my bill. The first and the last bill are already passed while the other one I will give more information on in later post.

Miss America to address eating disorders in Ill.

Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan will host the 8th annual candlelight vigil for eating disorders at the Healing Garden of Linden Oaks at Edward in Naperville May 16. The 18-year-old Scanlan, from Nebraska, was 17 when she was crowned. She is the youngest winner since the first pageant in 1921. She chose eating disorders as her platform issue after learning how widespread they are in the U.S. while doing research for a friend who had bulimia. Scanlan's goal is to educate people about the signs and risks of eating disorders and how to get help. Linden Oaks at Edward and the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders will sponsor the event. The open event aims at motivating and encouraging recovery and providing family support.

I think this is a great idea. I am glad she picked eating disorders as her platform. I wish she would talk to my sponsor for the bill since Rep. Judy Biggert is from Ill. I wonder is she is attending the candlelight vigil. I wish I lived closer so that I could attend.

Section 6 of H.R. 36.

 

Rosen, D. S. (2010). Clinical Report—Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 126(6), 1240-1253. doi:10.1542/peds.2010-2821

 

The incidence and prevalence of eating disorders in children and adolescents has increased significantly in recent decades, making it essential for pediatricians to consider these disorders in appropriate clinical settings, to evaluate patients suspected of having these disorders, and to manage (or refer) patients in whom eating disorders are diagnosed. This clinical report includes a discussion of diagnostic criteria and outlines the initial evaluation of the patient with disordered eating. Medical complications of eating disorders may affect any organ system, and careful monitoring for these complications is required. The range of treatment options, including pharmacotherapy, is described in this report. Pediatricians are encouraged to advocate for legislation and policies that ensure appropriate services for patients with eating disorders, including medical care, nutritional intervention, mental health treatment, and care coordination.

 

This is why we need H.R. 36 to be passed to do this:

 

SEC. 6. EATING DISORDER RESEARCH AND REPORT.

Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics shall conduct a study on the impact eating disorders have on educational advancement and achievement. The study shall--

(1) determine the prevalence of eating disorders among students and the morbidity and mortality rates associated with eating disorders;

(2) evaluate the extent to which students with eating disorders are more likely to miss school, have delayed rates of development, or have reduced cognitive skills;

(3) report on current State and local programs to educate youth about the dangers of eating disorders, as well as evaluate the value of such programs; and

(4) make recommendations on measures that could be undertaken by the Congress, the Secretary of Education, States, and local educational agencies to strengthen eating disorder prevention and awareness programs.

This would be monumental to find this research in schools because eating disorders are so taboo. It is very hard to determine is people have eating disorders. I think this research could help a lot of children and help to continues awareness of eating disorders in school age children.

Eating Disorders News

Today I was looking at the latest news on eating disorders and found a very interesting article in the Medical News Toady website. The article was about the relationship of being born in the spring would more likely to have anorexia. I am going to post the article under my opinion here so that you can draw your own opinions about the topic. I think that it is a little weird that they would find this relationship and publish research about it. I personally think it is a little bizarre.

Here is the article:

Anorexia More Likely To Affect Those Born In Spring

If you were born in the spring, your chances of subsequently developing anorexia are greater, researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, revealed in the British Journal of Psychiatry. According to the authors, theirs is the "largest study to date" and provides compelling evidence of a link between spring births and anorexia risk.

Dr Lahiru Handunnetthi and team gathered data including birth dates of 1,293 individuals who had been diagnosed with anorexia. They discovered that a disproportionately high number of patients (15% excess) were born between March and June, for every seven anorexia cases expected, there were eight. They also found fewer-than-expected births in September/October (20% deficit).

The researchers explain that previous studies had indicated a risk between developing an eating disorder and when the person is born. However, they were small studies involving few people - making it difficult to come to any conclusions.

Dr Handunnetthi said:

"We meta-analysed four cohorts of anorexia nervosa patients from the UK, making this the largest ever study to assess the presence of a season of birth effect in anorexia. We found that susceptibility to anorexia nervosa is significantly influenced by a person's season of birth, being higher in those people born in the spring and lower in those born in the autumn.

A number of previous studies have found that mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression are more common among those born in the spring - so this finding in anorexia is perhaps not surprising. However, our study only provides evidence of an association. Now we need more research to identify which factors are putting people at particular risk."

The scientists say that perhaps environmental factors which are present when conception occurs, or during fetal development in the uterus, may have an impact.

Dr Handunnetthi said:

"Seasonal changes in temperature, sunlight exposure and vitamin D levels, maternal nutrition and exposure to infections are all possible risk factors. Identifying these risk factors is important in helping us understand and maybe even prevent illness in future."

"Season of birth and anorexia nervosa"
Giulio Disanto, MD, Adam E. Handel, BMBCh and Andrea E. Para, MSc
bjp.bp.110.085944v1

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today

Blog Post 2!

I commented on another blog! I really enjoy reading other peoples blogs about eating disorders. They are very inspirational and really out there with eating disorders awareness and education. This blog is on Physiology Today and the Blog is called "Body of Evidence" by Carrie Arnold. She has her another blog on blog spot that is more personal. This blog she recently got hired to write about the science of eating disorders. So far it is very informational and is going to be amazing at help the getting important information out to the population about eating disorders.

Therefore this is what I posted on Carrie Arnold's blog:
First off I want to congratulate you on your new blog! I think it is off to a wonderful start. I am a graduate student at Eastern Kentucky University’s Community Nutrition Program. I have been following your blog since the beginning of the semester. When I found out you were starting this blog I got very excited. I really enjoy your blog and I have to say I am a fan. I love your story and it is very inspirational. As a project this semester I started a blog. I decided that I wanted my blog to about eating disorders and the passing of bill H.R. 36 Eating Disorders Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2011. This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the use of innovative assistance funds for programs to: (1) improve identification of students with eating disorders; (2) increase awareness of such disorders among parents and students; and (3) train educators with respect to effective eating disorder prevention and assistance methods. I chose this topic because my sister suffered with an eating disorder and I feel as though no one wants to talk about eating disorders. I love your blog and I think that this blog is going to be very helpful in eating disorder education. Thank you for all you do for the fight against eating disorders!