Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Mar;31(2):320-334.
doi: 10.1002/erv.2959. Epub 2022 Nov 25.

A framework for conceptualising early intervention for eating disorders

Karina L Allen  1   2 , Victoria A Mountford  2   3 , Rosiel Elwyn  4 , Michaela Flynn  2 , Anthea Fursland  5 , Nicole Obeid  6 , Georgina Partida  1 , Katie Richards  2 , Ulrike Schmidt  1   2 , Lucy Serpell  7   8 , Scout Silverstein  9 , Tracey Wade  10
Affiliations
Review

A framework for conceptualising early intervention for eating disorders

Karina L Allen et al. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: This paper outlines the evidence base for early intervention for eating disorders; provides a global overview of how early intervention for eating disorders is provided in different regions and settings; and proposes policy, service, clinician and research recommendations to progress early intervention for eating disorders.

Method and results: Currently, access to eating disorder treatment often takes many years or does not occur at all. This is despite neurobiological, clinical and socioeconomic evidence showing that early intervention may improve outcomes and facilitate full sustained recovery from an eating disorder. There is also considerable variation worldwide in how eating disorder care is provided, with marked inequalities in treatment provision. Despite these barriers, there are existing evidence-based approaches to early intervention for eating disorders and progress is being made in scaling these.

Conclusions: We propose action steps for the field that will transform eating disorder service provision and facilitate early detection, treatment and recovery for everyone affected by eating disorders, regardless of age, socioeconomic status and personal characteristics.

Keywords: anorexia nervosa; bulimia nervosa; early intervention; eating disorders; mental health.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Aardoom, J. J. , Dingemans, A. E. , Spinhoven, P. , van Ginkel, J. R. , de Rooij, M. , & van Furth, E. F. (2016). Web‐based fully automated self‐help with different levels of therapist support for individuals with eating disorder symptoms: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(6), e159. 10.2196/jmir.5709 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aceituno, D. , Vera, N. , Prina, A. M. , & McCrone, P. (2019). Cost‐effectiveness of early intervention in psychosis: Systematic review. British Journal of Psychiatry, 215(01), 388–394. 10.1192/bjp.2018.298 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Allen, K. , Mountford, V. , Brown, A. , Richards, K. , Grant, N. , Austin, A. , Glennon, D. , & Schmidt, U. (2020). First episode rapid early intervention for eating disorders (FREED): From research to routine clinical practice. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 14(5), 625–630. 10.1111/eip.12941 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Allison, S. , Wade, T. D. , Schmidt, U. , Treasure, J. , Bastiampillai, T. , Looi, J. C. L. (2021). Setting a youth‐focused research agenda for eating disorders during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 56(6), 591, 593, in press. 10.1177/00048674211054743oi - DOI - PubMed
    1. All‐Party Parliamentary Group on Eating Disorders . (2021). Breaking the cycle: An inquiry into eating disorder research funding in the UK. https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/about‐beat/policy‐work/all‐party‐...

Publication types

MeSH terms