victoria schonwald

My theme for research this week is eating disorders in midlife and older women. In the last few years, conversations about perimenopause have finally become louder. Women are sharing experiences that were once whispered about or dismissed. Hormones, sleep changes, brain fog, joint aches, mood shifts, heavy periods, and exhaustion are now being talked about openly. That shift matters. For many people, it has been validating to realise they are not alone. But there is another side to the...

In first sessions with parents, I often find myself holding two responsibilities at once. I need to be honest about how serious malnutrition can be. And I need to help families feel steady enough to begin the work. Those two things don’t always sit comfortably together. This feels especially hard when malnutrition is not treated with urgency or as an emergency by other clinicians. I know I am biased toward this viewpoint as a dietitian; however, the evidence points to early, faster refeeding...

Anorexia nervosa carries one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric disorder. That is not dramatic language. It is established in long-term research and formally recognised in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision . Malnutrition is not cosmetic. It is not a lifestyle preference. It is a systemic physiological compromise. When the body is undernourished, the heart muscle weakens. Resting heart rate slows. Blood pressure drops. Bone...