Dr. Bryn Austin

Big Ideas In Eating Disorders

In this episode we hear from Dr. Bryn Austin, award-winning researcher, teacher, and mentor and Founding Director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders: A Public Health Incubator (STRIPED). Dr. Austin is Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In this episode, she urges all of us in the field to think about risk for eating disorders from a public health and social justice perspective. She has documented that the economic cost of eating disorders is close to 65 billion USD annually - on par with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia. She has also led research that demonstrates that prevention interventions are cost-effective. She urges scientists to get involved with policy and democracy – to engage with the world to change the world. Specifically, she makes the case that we need to pursue policy strategies to combat toxic environmental factors like social media, weight discrimination, and predatory products (like diet pills) to raise awareness and make systems changes that reduce the risk for eating disorders at a population level. After listening to Dr. Austin, your understanding of eating disorders risk and prevention will be forever transformed.