Journal of Eating Disorders

As a result of the significant disruption that is being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic we are very aware that many researchers will have difficulty in meeting the timelines associated with our peer review process during normal times.  Please do let us know if you need additional time. Our systems will continue to remind you of the original timelines but we intend to be highly flexible at this time.

All of us have been stunned by the impact of this viral pandemic. Whilst the focus has of course been on the public health needs to contain its spread and care for individuals with acute infection and the most vulnerable, only now are the wider impacts on people’s mental health being thought about. In this regard, people with Eating Disorders may be particularly vulnerable, because of their frequently compromised physical health, as well as problematic relationships with food in a time of food insecurity and panic buying, and often impoverished social and interpersonal lives in a time of severe “social distancing’. 
We call for papers informing on all aspects of the impacts that this global crisis may have, or is having, on people living with an eating disorder, their health and treatment, and the wider research community. This includes consequences for research programs and research governance such as  peer review. We encourage papers reporting case histories and novel solutions to care where face to face contact is curtailed.

Edited by: Hubert Lacey, Phillipa Hay and Stephen Touyz
Submission deadline: 1 March 2021

Early publications on eating disorders were on the medical and nutritional care for young women with anorexia nervosa in the nineteenth century.  Since that time there have been major advances in the science of starvation and physical health restoration but practice can vary and consensus can be elusive. There is not a shared understanding of the physiological changes in starvation nor optimal strategy to best manage malnutrition for patients with anorexia nervosa.  Whilst there are Centres with established refeeding practices lead by clinicians of considerable experience,  research is needed  to address questions such as how best to provide nutrition, including  nutrients (calories and micronutrients/supplements) as well as feeding strategies and the management of early complications. The relationships between cognitive, emotional and physical states during the period of intensive nutritional care are also under-researched.

Edited by: Michael Kohn and Neville Golden
Submission deadline: 1 December 2020

It’s a time of “big data”. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are being increasingly utilised in healthcare settings. These technologies have potential to aid in the rapid and cost-effective prevention, detection, and treatment of mental disorders. We call for papers for this Special Issue that further our understanding of the utility of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the field of eating disorders.

Edited by: Ross Crosby and Jasmine Fardouly
Submission deadline: 1 December 2020