Quick Takes

Virtual reality could help treat eating disorders, Louisville researchers say

By: - April 23, 2024 12:21 pm

Cheri Levinson is an associate professor with the university and the director of Louisville’s Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) Lab. (Photo provided)

LOUISVILLE — Kentucky researchers are developing and expanding a virtual reality treatment for eating disorders using a $125,000 grant from the National Eating Disorders Association, the University of Louisville announced Tuesday.?

Eating disorders are widespread and can be deadly. The COVID-19 pandemic increased their prevalence in Kentucky.?

About 9% of Americans live with eating disorders, which can lead to a “preoccupation” with food intake, weight, calories and more, according to NEDA. Girls are more likely to have disordered eating, the Lantern has reported.?

Louisville researchers who study this issue want to expand the use of virtual reality (VR) technology that they have developed. This can help patients “face their fears of gaining weight” through simulations, they say. Researchers have already conducted a pilot study on such technology, which UofL says was “effective” in helping patients.??

Need help?

If you or someone you know has an eating disorder, you can get help through the National Eating Disorder Association. Call 800-931-2237 or chat online at nationaleatingdisorder.org.

The Louisville Center for Eating Disorders provides nonemergency services, including outpatient therapy. Visit louisvillecenterforeatingdisorders.com or call 502-205-1114 for more information.?

“Research shows exposure treatment can be really effective in taking back control over these devastating and life-altering fears,” Christina Ralph-Nearman, a UofL College of Arts and Sciences assistant research professor, researcher and co-inventor of the technology, said in a statement. “Our virtual simulation allows people to do that in a safe way.”?

Cheri Levinson, an associate professor with the university and the director of Louisville’s Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) Lab, is currently leading several projects to tackle and treat eating disorders. In November, Levinson and her team were awarded an $11.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study treatment options.?

“Despite the high prevalence of eating disorders, there still aren’t many options for treatment and prevention,” Levinson said. “This work will not only create new options by leveraging technology, but open previously unopened doors for treating people on a personal, individual level.”

Levinson wants to use the grant money to expand this new technology to “more inclusive of all body types and sizes, ethnicities, races and gender identities and to further test outcomes in a clinical setting.”?

“Eating disorders don’t just affect one type of person — there are a multitude of factors that can influence them,” she said. “Treatment and prevention options should reflect that full range of experience.”

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Sarah Ladd
Sarah Ladd

Sarah Ladd is a Louisville-based journalist from West Kentucky who's covered everything from crime to higher education. She spent nearly two years on the metro breaking news desk at The Courier Journal. In 2020, she started reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and has covered health ever since. As the Kentucky Lantern's health reporter, she focuses on mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, children's welfare, COVID-19 and more.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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