Eating disorders, families and technologyEating disorders, families and technology
All In The Mind
It’s estimated that nine percent of the Australian population has an eating disorder. Many of these people are also anxious and depressed. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness but little is known about the cause—so treatment is challenging.
28:50•29 May 2016
Eating Disorders, Family Power and Smart Tech: Rewriting the Rules of Recovery
Episode Overview
- Family-based treatment places temporary responsibility for eating with parents, with a clear message that eating is non-negotiable and driven by care.
- Dietary restriction, combined with certain genetic and personality factors, is described as the main pathway into many eating disorders.
- Restoring weight and regular eating often reduces depression and anxiety symptoms that are intensified by starvation.
- The Mandometer device uses biofeedback on eating speed and fullness, helping people relearn hunger and satiety cues and trust their bodies.
- Early intervention and open conversations about disordered eating are highlighted as crucial for limiting severity and long-term impact.
“"It's never completely smooth sailing, but I consider myself to be normal... I've been given a freedom from my eating disorder."”
What drives someone to seek a life without the grip of an eating disorder? This episode of *All In The Mind* looks closely at how families and technology are being used to tackle anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, and why treatment can be so hard. You’ll hear Ruby describe becoming “extremely ill extremely quickly”, to the point where she says she was “starting to digest my heart”.
Her story captures just how serious these illnesses can be, and how isolating compulsive exercise and starvation feel from the inside. Ruby can’t pinpoint a simple cause, highlighting how messy and complex eating disorders often are. Associate Professor Sue Byrne from The University of Western Australia explains what’s known so far: a strong genetic component, higher risk for females, and dietary restriction acting as the main doorway into illness.
She outlines family-based treatment, where parents temporarily take charge of meals and communicate a firm message that “eating is non-negotiable” while expressing love and concern. The episode then shifts to technology with Swedish psychologist and CEO Cecilia Berg, who introduces the Mandometer, a smart scale connected to a phone that tracks eating rate and fullness.
As Cecilia puts it, patients often “trust computers more than clinicians”, so this biofeedback can help retrain hunger and satiety signals and reduce anxiety after meals, supported by warmth therapy. Veronica Sanchez’s account of taking her 12-year-old daughter to Sweden for intensive treatment shows how far some families go when local options feel insufficient, and raises big questions about access and public funding.
Sue Byrne finishes by stressing the need for large-scale trials, genetic research and prevention programmes, while Ruby talks about ongoing vigilance and the life she’s regained: studying, travelling and social eating without crippling fear. If you or someone you care about is worried about disordered eating, could this mix of family support and smart technology offer ideas worth talking about today?
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