Eating Disorder Research Funding Cut – MAHA Shift
- research into eating disorders is facing significant challenges as federal funding dwindles, raising concerns among experts about potential setbacks in treatment and early detection.
- A recent report from the president’s Make america Healthy Again Commission, focused on childhood chronic diseases, barely mentions eating disorders, a notable omission given their rising incidence and...
- According to a Harvard team tracking the lost funding, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has terminated at least seven eating disorder grants, totaling nearly $2.7 million.
Federal funding cuts are jeopardizing vital eating disorder research,sparking fears of setbacks in treatment and early detection efforts. The Make America healthy Again Commission’s report notably skimps on eating disorders, despite their rising prevalence, especially among women and girls. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has already terminated grants, impacting crucial studies. Experts like Christine Peat are sounding the alarm on the funding’s disproportionate impact. Researchers from Harvard and Auburn University are actively seeking option funding to continue their work and mitigate the effects of these cuts. existing treatments are limited, and new approaches are desperately needed. Visit News Directory 3 for more on this concerning issue. Discover what’s next for eating disorder research?
Eating Disorder Research Faces Setbacks amid Funding Cuts
Updated june 03, 2025
research into eating disorders is facing significant challenges as federal funding dwindles, raising concerns among experts about potential setbacks in treatment and early detection. The cuts come at a time when eating disorders are increasingly prevalent, particularly among young women and girls, and can have deadly consequences.
A recent report from the president’s Make america Healthy Again Commission, focused on childhood chronic diseases, barely mentions eating disorders, a notable omission given their rising incidence and severity. The report, while addressing obesity and children’s diets, lacks specific references to conditions like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder.
According to a Harvard team tracking the lost funding, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has terminated at least seven eating disorder grants, totaling nearly $2.7 million. The full extent of the cuts,including those from the National Science Foundation and targeted universities,remains unclear. These cuts represent a significant portion of the total funding available for eating disorder research.
Christine peat, president of the Eating Disorder Coalition, emphasized the disproportionate impact of funding cuts on a field already struggling with limited resources. Ariel Beccia, a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard, echoed this concern, noting that the relatively small amount of money involved represents a large percentage of available funds for eating disorder research.
Tiffany Brown, principal investigator at Auburn University’s ACCEPT Lab, had to let go of one of her two full-time research coordinators after her grant was canceled. She anticipates the timeline for her work on new treatment approaches will double without federal support.
“I’m extremely worried that we’re just going to continue with the status quo now, where some people get better and most don’t,” said Cheri Levinson, director of the EAT Lab at the University of Louisville Kentucky.
Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), stated that the MAHA report ”analyzes key drivers of the childhood chronic disease crisis — including poor diet” and that Secretary Kennedy believes the report provides a framework for reversing preventable illnesses, including eating disorders.
Researchers are now seeking alternative funding sources, including private foundations, to continue their work.despite the competition for limited funds, Beccia noted a strong sense of camaraderie within the field, with researchers encouraging each other to apply for the same grants.
Existing treatments for eating disorders, often based on cognitive behavioral therapy, have limited effectiveness, with high dropout rates and varying remission rates. Researchers like Levinson are exploring new approaches using machine learning to personalize treatment based on individual patient data.
In mid-May, Peat and 140 other advocates traveled to Capitol Hill to advocate for $5 million to continue federal training for clinicians on eating disorder screening and intervention, plus $750,000 in research grants focused on early detection among women and girls.
What’s next
Researchers are actively seeking new funding opportunities and collaborations to mitigate the impact of the federal grant terminations and continue their efforts to improve eating disorder treatment and prevention.