More than a dozen former employees say understaffing at Brynn Marr Hospital contributes to what they describe as a dangerous place for patients and employees. Hospital officials say allegations of violence, sexual assaults, overmedication and lack of mental health therapy are unfounded.

Former employees say short-staffed NC psych hospital rife with violence, abuse

Brynn Marr Hospital

Celebrate the moms in your life on Sunday, May 12 with these Mother's Day deals including flowers, gift card bonus offers, restaurant deals, retail sales and more!

Mother's Day Deals 2024: Flowers, restaurant, retail and gift card bonus offers

Roses at store

All assets associated with the tag: eating disorders

Eating disorders Coverage

(CNN) -- There is still much researchers don't know about popular weight loss medications -- and those lack of studies could have consequences for eating disorders, according to experts.

The questions eating disorder experts have about weight loss medications

Eating disorders

Ryan has struggled with his body image for nearly a decade at 17 years old. He is one of the hundreds of boys that struggle with eating disorders. 

WERE SOLD AT WALMART AND ON AMAZON. YOU CAN CONTACT THE COMPANY IF YOU HAVE THESE PRODUCTS. >> BOYS AND EATING DISORDERS, IT'S AN ISSUE THAT OFTEN DOESN'T GET THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES ABOUT ONE IN 3 PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH AN EATING DISORDER IS MALE. BUT EXPERTS SAY THEY'RE SEVERELY UNDER DIAGNOSED SAVANNAH SELLERS SPOKE WITH ONE FAMILY TRYING TO GET THEIR SON THE HELP HE NEEDS >> AT JUST 17 YEARS OLD, RYAN HAS BEEN STRUGGLING WITH HIS BODY IMAGE FOR CLOSE TO A DECADE. >> AND FIRST KIND OF WAS JUST LIKE, OH, I'M TOO BIG. >> IN 6TH GRADE, RYAN BEGAN SKIPPING SNACKS AND DESSERT. HE JOINED THE WRESTLING TEAM AND OVER THE NEXT 2 YEARS STARTED TO RESTRICT EVEN MORE. >> THERE WAS A LOT OF CUTTING YOUR WAY TO GET A LOWER WEIGHT CLASSES BY 8TH GRADE FOOD CONSUMED HIS THOUGHTS. >> A STUNNING ABOUT USING. >> EVERY DAY, EVERY MEAL BE DOING. GILL. YOU KNOW, DREADING A MEAL. >> THE CHANGE IN RYAN'S PHYSICAL APPEARANCE WAS DRAMATIC. THIS HERE IS ONE FRESHMAN YEAR. YOU'RE A LOT THINNER. YEAH. STILL, IT TOOK YEARS FOR RYAN TO SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR HIS EATING DISORDER. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A GIRL THING. >> WHEN DID YOU THINK OKAY, MAYBE IT CAN APPLY 2 BOYS TO WOULDN'T BE UNTIL I STARTED TREATMENT. EVEN DOCTORS STRUGGLE TO IDENTIFY MALE PATIENTS IN PART BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO ROAD MAP TO DO SO. >> 99% OF THE RESEARCH UP UNTIL NOW HAS FOCUSED ON FEMALES. DOCTOR JASON, THE IS AN EATING DISORDER SPECIALIST AT UCSF PUSHING FOR GUIDELINES SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON BOYS AND MEN. HE SAYS NO EATING DISORDER ACCOUNTS FOR BOYS TRYING TO BULK UP AND UNTIL 2020 TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH ANOREXIA, A PERSON HAD TO MISS AT LEAST 3 PERIODS, ESPECIALLY WITH ATHLETES, ARE DOING THE EXACT SAME THINGS THAT GIRLS, YOU KNOW, WITH EATING DISORDERS ARE DOING TO TRY TO GET THESE WEIGHT CUT OFFS. >> BUT IT'S THIS VIEW IS NORMAL BECAUSE EVERYONE IN THE TEAM IS DOING AT RYAN'S MOM. CARRIE NEVER SAW THIS COMING. >> I REALLY THOUGHT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS WITH MY DAUGHTER AND IT ENDED UP BEING DRY. AND IT JUST THAT WAS VERY SURPRISING. >> A SAVANNAH SELLERS REPORTING. SO WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU SUSPECT YOUR CHILD MAY HAVE AN EATING DISORDER, ASK THEM IF THEY CAN TO OPEN UP ABOUT IT, LEARN ABOUT THEIR DISORDER. AVOID DISCUSSING TOPICS ON FOOD AND THE BODY. GET PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING. ONE PLACE TO START IS THE NATIONAL EATING DISORDERS, HELPLINE. WE PROVIDED THAT NUMBER HERE FOR YOU ON YOUR SCREEN. 809, 3, 1,

'Not just a girl thing': Family explains how teen boys struggle with eating disorder 

During the pandemic, emergency rooms across the country reported an increase in visits from teenage girls dealing with eating and other disorders, including anxiety, depression and stress, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More Teenage Girls With Eating Disorders Wound Up in the ER During the Pandemic

"Addicted to Instagram:' Two teens share how social media led to eating disorders

Have you noticed that your child's body has changed during the pandemic? Did a visit to the pediatrician start a conversation about your child's weight?

Concerned about your child's weight? Read this

Cut down on red meat, add fruits and vegetables says nutrition coach

For kids and teens, social isolation and boredom have long been predictors of eating disorder onset. And they've experienced both of those in spades during the pandemic.



As eating disorders rise among adolescents, here's how parents can spot them and what to do

Scale

New research indicates that more kids may be obese since the start of COVID. We check in with an expert at UNC's Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders about what to do if you're worried about your child's weight.

Worried about your child's weight gain during COVID? Here's what not to do

Potato chips

Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill hope to uncover the genes that could provide answers to why some people are at a higher risk of developing an eating disorder.

As cases skyrocket during pandemic, UNC-Chapel Hill launches massive study on the genetics behind eating disorders

UNC researchers seek 6,000 volunteers for world’s largest eating disorders study

The Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI) aims to identify the hundreds of genes that influence a person’s risk of developing anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder, to improve treatment, and ultimately save lives.

Researchers believe some people may have genetic predispositions to eating disorders. UNC is launching the world's largest study aimed at determining how genetics plays a role, with a goal of helping find new treatments and saving lives.

PREVENT >>> THIS IS WRAL NEWS. >> RESEARCH BELIEVE SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE A GENETIC PREDISPOSITION TO AN EATING DISORDER. THIS MORNING UNC STARTED A STUDY  TO DETERMINE HOW GENETICS PLAY A ROLE WITH THE GOAL OF SAVING LIVES. JOINING US AS THE LEAD RESEARCHER OF THE EATING DISORDERS GENETICS INITIATIVE, UNC PROFESSOR  DR. CYNTHIA BUICK . THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPENDING THE TIME WITH US THIS MORNING. WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THIS STUDY? >> WE HAVE HAD GREAT SUCCESS IN PREVIOUS STUDIES IDENTIFYING AREAS THAT DIRECT ANOREXIA AND NOW WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE GENETICS. >> WHEN YOU PUT THOSE ALTOGETHER AND YOU HEAR THOSE WORDS, HOW BIG OF A PROBLEM ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WITH EATING DISORDERS? >> WE ARE WRAL NEWS BEST STIGMAS. IT AFFECTS 5% OF THE POPULATION. IN THE UNITED STATES  WE ARE TALKING ABOUT 30 MILLION PEOPLE WHO HAVE AN EATING DISORDER AND THE COST IS 64.7 BILLION ANNUALLY SO IT IS A BIG PROBLEM. >> SO HOW WOULD YOU CONSIDER THE STEADY TO BE SUCCESSFUL? WOULD IT BE LEAVING TO NEW TREATMENTS? >> RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ONE FDA APPROVED MEDICATION FOR BULIMIA AND ONE FOR THE BINGE EATING DISORDER AND ZERO FOR ANOREXIA. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL UNLOCK THE BIOLOGY OF THESE ILLNESSES SO THAT WE CAN START TARGET THIS WITH EFFECTIVE MEDICATIONS. >> THE PANDEMIC HAS PUT US ALL IN A DIFFERENT PLACE MENTALLY AND HASN'T MADE THESE DISORDERS WORSE FOR SOME? >> YES. WE JUST FINISHED A STUDY WHERE WE SURVEYED 500 PEOPLE ABOUT THE IMPACT OF COVID-19  AND WE HAVE SEEN IT INCREASE IN RESTRICTIONS AND JUST A PERVASIVE INCREASE IN ANXIETY AND THEY ALL ATTRIBUTED TO THE PANDEMIC. >> AND AS YOU STUDY THAT IS HAVE YOU SEEN A CERTAIN TYPE OF PERSON TO ENROLL IN THE STUDY? WAS TYPE OF PERSONALLY LOOKING FOR? >> WE ARE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT AND WHAT ANY OF THESE EATING DISORDERS AT ANY TIME IN THEIR LIFE. SO EVEN IF YOU HAVE IT 30 YEARS AGO, YOU ARE WELCOME TO ENROLL IN I HAVE TO DO IS GO TO WWW.EDGI.ORG.

UNC studying role of genes in eating disorders

Experts warn conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic are common triggers.

with mom's increasingly more stressed about balancing work from home, home schooling and more. Some women are more at risk for an eating disorder, according to the Eating Recovery Center, and type A personalities or perfectionist make the top of the list. Action ist IC characteristic somebody. It becomes the number one important thing that needs to happen that days. When individuals aren't able to exercise the way that they would like to, we often see that they may feel guilt that get angry, irritable they may feel the crest. That means sacrificing food, family and other daily needs in order to work out. Working out itself isn't normally a bad thing, since it can be a way to cope and reduce anxiety. But, like with anything too much is harmful. It can be used as a means of permission to eat. It can be used as a way to compensate for any food eaten. It can be used as a way oftentimes, really the only way or the primary way to reduce dress reduce anxiety, and it becomes a way for the individual to regulate their emotion.

Pandemic stress fuels eating disorders

Eating disorder experts are starting to see more of what's called orthorexia.It's not an official diagnosis yet, but it refers to someone who is trying so hard to eat right, that he or she ends up malnourished.

Obsessing over heatlhy eating can become unhealthy

Eating disorder experts are starting to see more cases of Orthorexia. This is an unofficial eating disorder caused by a person obsessing about eating healthy foods. 

Strictly focusing on healthy foods could lead to eating disorder

Fruit

Psychologists at Children's Health in Dallas say more young people are taking it to the extreme.

Doctors warn parents of clean eating trend

Researchers at the University of North Carolina hope that an Apple Watch can help track ways to prevent uncontrollable binge eating. 