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Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED)

Our initiative is a public health incubator, designed to cultivate novel insights and strategies for prevention. We introduce trainees to a rich array of disciplinary perspectives, methodologies, and theories and provide them with opportunities to join crosscutting collaborative teams.

Media Coverage

See how our work is making headlines.

November 13, 2024

Explore how policy changes under the upcoming new administration may impact regulations on dietary supplements. This Harvard Public Health opinion piece delves into the potential risks and implications for public health.

November 11, 2024

The future of supplement regulation could put public health at risk. This STAT News article, featuring STRIPED’s Bryn Austin and  Amanda Raffoul, highlights how weak oversight allows dangerous products, like weight loss and muscle-building supplements, to harm young people.

September 13, 2024

In this Harvard Gazette article, STRIPED’s Bryn Austin, along with other scholars, discuss the harms of diet culture.

July 22, 2024

STRIPED’s Bryn Austin is quoted in this Medscape article, Ask Teenage Boys If They Use Muscle-Building Supplements.

July 9, 2024

STRIPED hosted an exciting Advocacy Day on Tuesday, July 9, with Rep. Kay Khan, where advocates visited nearly 100 lawmaker offices on Beacon Hill to support Massachusetts bill H.2215, which would ban the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and muscle-building supplements for minors. Advocates emphasized the dangers to youth and met with dozens of lawmakers to garner support, stressing the bill’s urgency as the legislative session nears its end. Read more in this State House News article.

June 12, 2024

Harvard’s Center for Health Communication and STRIPED highlight the power of influencers in advocating for better public health policies, including our Out of Kids’ Hands campaign.

June 10, 2024

In the latest edition of STAT News’ Morning Rounds, nine states are moving to ban the sale of over-the-counter weight loss supplements to minors. New York is leading the way by implementing the first such ban, highlighting the urgent health risks these products pose to adolescents.

May 11, 2024

Learn more in this Boston Globe article about the dangers of an accelerating diet culture and the recent New York State law banning the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and muscle building supplements to children under 18.

May 9, 2024

Learn more about New York’s new law banning the sale of muscle-building supplements to minors in this Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health article.

May 1, 2024

STRIPED’s Bryn Austin is featured in this Men’s Health article about New York state banning the sale of toxic over-the-counter weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to minors. Also discussed is the work-in-progress documentary Generation Flex, featuring many courageous youth advocates from the STRIPED Youth Corps.

April 25, 2024

In this PopSugar article, STRIPED affiliate Dr. Amanda Raffoul discusses TikTok’s new restrictions on weight loss content, and whether they will be effective.

April 23-25, 2024

New York has banned the sale of weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to minors in order to protect children’s health by preventing their exposure to potentially dangerous ingredients that are sometimes found in such loosely regulated supplements. Read more in this Associated Press article, or read STRIPED Director Bryn Austin in this Spectrum News article.

April 5, 2024

STRIPED’s efforts are mentioned in this Boston Globe editorial, An ‘utterly unregulated Wild West’: FDA needs more oversight of dietary supplements.

January 5, 2024 to February 12, 2024

STRIPED Director Bryn Austin is mentioned in this NPR article about collaborations between researchers and content creators, and she is also featured on NPR’s Morning Edition: Influencers are asked to help stop the spread of mental health misinformation.

February 6, 2024

In this New York Times article, Why Eating Disorder Content Keeps Spreading, STRIPED’s Amanda Raffoul discusses the role of social media in eating disorder content.

January 10, 2024 to January 17, 2024

A new review article in JAMA Network Open on over-the-counter weight-loss products, co-authored by STRIPED Director Bryn Austin with colleagues Natasha Hall and Long Le of Deakin and Monash Universities, found that almost one in ten youth globally have used these ineffective and harmful products in their lifetimes. To learn more about our findings, read more on STATNewsThe 19thThe Guardian, and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

December 27, 2023 to January 16, 2024

New STRIPED research, Social media platforms generate billions of dollars in revenue from U.S. youth: Findings from a simulated revenue model, estimated that in 2022, popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube amassed nearly $11 billion in ad revenue from U.S. youth ages 0-17. Press coverage includes a press release from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Social media platforms generate billions in annual ad revenue from U.S. youth, and articles on Associated PressThe HillEarth.comWTOP NewsThe Harvard GazetteBroadcast Retirement Network, and USA Today. Additionally, listen to Amanda Raffoul discuss the study on NPR’s Weekend Edition and watch her on CBS News.

December 11, 2023

In this Euracitiv op-ed, STRIPED’s Director Bryn Austin describes how social media can seriously harm teens’ mental health by exposing them to unrealistic standards of beauty, calling on Europe to make platforms prioritize child wellbeing over profit.

November 5, 2023

Congratulations to STRIPED Youth Corps member Chuying Huo for being named by Forbes magazine as of the 13 Teens Changing the World this year as a result of her advocacy work around eating disorders prevention and treatment.

October 27, 2023

STRIPED and Director Bryn Austin are highlighted in this Harvard. T. H. Chan School of Public Health feature article for the team’s advocacy work around the New York State legislation banning the sale of over-the-counter weight loss and muscle building supplements to youth. On October 25, 2023, New York became the first state to ban the sale of these products to minors.

August 18, 2023

In this Teen Vogue article, STRIPED’s Amanda Raffoul highlights the potential health risks posed by largely unregulated weight loss supplements like berberine, which are becoming popular alternatives to prescription drugs like Ozempic for weight loss purposes.

August 17, 2023

STRIPED’s Amanda Raffoul is highlighted in this Well+Good article discussing the problematic biases and limitations of AI-powered chatbots in providing health and nutrition advice, particularly concerning weight and diet culture.

August 7, 2023

In this Washington Post article, STRIPED’s Amanda Raffoul warns that AI’s seemingly legitimate advice on weight loss and body image lacks context, potentially intensifying harmful behaviors and fostering competitiveness among individuals with eating disorders, underscoring the need for human expertise and caution.

June 6, 2023

A new bill in Massachusetts is aiming to protects residents from size discrimination. Read STRIPED’s Amanda Raffoul discuss weight discrimination as a public health issue on Boston.com.

May 26, 2023

STRIPED’s Amanda Raffoul stresses the importance of the surgeon general’s report in addressing concerns about social media’s impact on youth mental health in this article from The Tablet.

May 20, 2023

In this Boston Globe article, STRIPED’s Amanda Raffoul discusses how weight discrimination in medical settings can contribute to health disparities and negative health outcomes.

May 17, 2023

STRIPED’s Director Bryn Austin, along with Gaby Vargas, MD, discuss body dissatisfaction and muscle dysmorphia in this MedPage Today article.

April 25, 2023

STRIPED faculty member Tracy Richmond, MD, MPH, is quoted in this Stat News article about weight stigma.

April 14, 2023

STRIPED’s Director Bryn Austin, PhD, along with Jason Nagata, MD and Gaby Vargas, MD, discuss body dysmorphia on boys and men, along with the harms associated with the use of muscle-building supplements, in this Washington Post article.

April 7, 2023

Watch STRIPED faculty Dr. Amanda Raffoul discuss legislative movements related to protecting youth on social media.

April 6, 2023

STRIPED faculty Dr. Amanda Raffoul is quoted in this Tech & Learning article about Health at Every Size.

March 22, 2023

In this StatNews article, STRIPED faculty member Dr. Amanda Raffoul discusses algorithms, social media, and eating disorders.

March 22, 2023

STRIPED faculty member Dr. Amanda Raffoul discusses social media and body image in this Our Sunday Visitor article.

March 20, 2023

STRIPED Director Bryn Austin is quoted in this Denver Post article about banning weight-loss supplements.

January 24, 2023

Learn more about STRIPED’s course on colorism in this featured article in the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health News. Our course was was named a finalist for the Digital Education Awards.

January 11, 2023

In this radio interview from The Capital Pressroom,  STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin explains the safety concerns with non-prescription diet offerings and discusses how the proposed restrictions in New York state would protect young people

Media Coverage Archive

October 27, 2022

The recent op-ed in MedPage Today by STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin, ScD, and STRIPED faculty member Tracy Richmond, MD, MPH, is highlighted in the most recent issue of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health’s In the News.

October 19, 2022

Read the newest op-ed on MedPage Today by STRIPED Director Bryn Austin, ScD, and STRIPED faculty member Tracy Richmond, MD, MPH, on the problems associated with using BMI as a clinical measure.

October 7, 2022

STRIPED’s Dr. Amanda Raffoul in interviewed in Glossy Pop’s Newsletter about emerging body ideal trends on social media.

October 5, 2022

STRIPED’s Director Dr. Bryn Austin, ScD, is quoted in the most recent issue of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health’s In the News.

October 5, 2022

STRIPED’s Director Dr. Bryn Austin, ScD, and collaborator Jason Nagata, MD, wrote a letter to the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle on the state of weight loss supplements in California.

October 4, 2022

STRIPED’s Director Dr. Bryn Austin authored this article on MSNBC about toxic beauty standards.

September 29, 2022

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin was interviewed by Scripps National News on the need for state-level action to restrict diet pill sales to minors.

September 20, 2022

STRIPED research study, with findings that indicate that women ranging in age from 14 to 36 who used diet pills were five times more likely to receive an eating disorder diagnosis within one to three years than those who did not, was quoted in a Sinclair News report. State legislation is crucial to protecting minors from unscrupulous businesses.

September 15, 2022

STRIPED research study by Jordan Levinson in the American Journal of Public Health was quoted in a Good Morning America segment on the need for state-level policy to ban the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and muscle-building supplements as stated in bills in California (AB-1341) and New York (A431C/S16D) for child health.

September 14, 2022

STRIPED research study by Jordan Levinson and the Out of Kids’ Hands web page was cited in a Kaiser Health News article titled, “California and New York Aim to Curb Diet Pill Sales to Minors” discussing the dangers of over-the-counter diet pills and weight loss products for children and adolescents and the need for state-level policy to ban their sale to minors.

August 23, 2022

Breaking News: AB-1341 was passed with overwhelming support in a 29-3 vote by the California Senate today! On to the Assembly! Read more on LinkedIn.

August 15, 2022

STRIPED’s economic research was cited in the Bloomberg article titled, “Lower-Income Americans Are Being Shut Out of Life-Saving Treatments for Anorexia,” and in the Fortune article title, “Lower-income Americans are losing access to life-saving treatments for anorexia: ‘There are just gross inequities in access to care” discussing how US families experience barriers to eating disorders care and treatment as insurance plans fall short.

July 20, 2022

STRIPED Postdoctoral Fellow and Faculty Amanda Raffoul was featured on the Harvard T.H. Chan School’s website in an article titled, “Social media boosting popularity of harmful skin whitening products,” discussing the need for social media platforms to start regulating user-generated content about skin whitening much like they do other potentially harmful content such as hate speech and the promotion of disordered eating behaviors.

June 22, 2022

STRIPED Postdoctoral Fellow and Faculty Amanda Raffoul was quoted in CNN news piece titled, “Social media is rife with whitening products. But little is being done to regulate the market” on the lack of consumer regulation present on major social media platforms around the sale of dangerous skin-lightening products.

June 10, 2022

STRIPED Trainee Dunni Ojumu and Youth Corps member Caroline Hodi’s much-needed and incisive youth perspective on improving regulations of social media platforms on Common Dreams.

June 9, 2022

Congratulations to STRIPED Postdoctoral Fellows Dr. Amanda Raffoul, Winner of the Top Paper Award, and Dr. Ariel Beccia, Winner of the Top Abstract Award, at the International Conference for Eating Disorders 2022!

May 4, 2022

STRIPED Director Dr. S. Bryn Austin spoke with Al Jazeera in their latest Fault Lines episode, “A Toxic Feed: Social media and teen mental health” on the effect of social media on America’s youth mental health crisis.

March 10, 2022

STRIPED Intern and Team USA figure skater Ryan Dunk authored a Commonwealth Magazine op-ed titled, “Eating disorders are ravaging young people” which explored the insidious peddling of diet pills and muscle-building supplements to kids.

February 10, 2022

Melissa Givens, Andrea T. Lindsey, Allison Ivie, Dr. Patricia A. Deuster and STRIPED Director, Dr. S. Bryn Austin co-authored a Military Times op-ed titled, “Tracking adverse reactions to dietary supplements could help military readiness” that highlighted the importance of the reporting language of adverse reactions to dietary supplements for service members in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act which would urge the Department of Defense to address the gap in reporting of dietary supplement-related adverse events.

January 18, 2022

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin was quoted in Scary Mommy news piece titled, “What Parents Should Know About The Uptick in Adolescent Eating Disorders,” on the rise in eating disorders during the pandemic and what we as parents can do to help our children.

January 4, 2022

Dr. Jason Nagata and STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin wrote an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle titled, “Diet pills are incredibly dangerous for teens. California needs to regulate them like cigarettes,” on the dangers of over-the-counter diet pills and weight loss supplements, and what the California legislature can do to protect children from them.

December 9, 2021

STRIPED Trainee Ariel Beccia and STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin were quoted in STAT News titled, “A decade without data: Eating disorder researchers say a gap in CDC survey has left them flying blind,” on the gap in public health systems on eating disorder symptoms.

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin was featured on the Harvard T.H. Chan School’s website in an article titled, “Eating disorder research hampered by limited data,” discussing the gaps in the national public health system on eating disorder symptoms, Instagram’s failure to protect vulnerable young people from content that promotes disordered eating, and Massachusetts legislation that would provide tax credits to personal care and apparel companies that pledged not to digitally alter the appearance of models in their advertisements.

December 8, 2021

STRIPED Faculty Dr. Tracy Richmond and STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin were quoted in an article titled, “Here’s How Instagram Fails to Protect People At Risk For Eating Disorders From Pro-Anorexia Messaging,” on the increase in eating disorders cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic and how Instagram and other social media platforms are promoting dangerous content to vulnerable users.

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin was quoted in an article titled, “Legislation aims to promote mental health through realistic advertising images,” on what governments can do to incentivize businesses to protect the health of adolescents and young adults through more inclusive and diverse advertising images.

November 9, 2021

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin was quoted in an article titled, “Clinicians must advocate, take action to eliminate weight stigma,” about the importance of strategic science and policy to reduce weight stigma and body-size discrimination.

November 5, 2021

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin gave the plenary at TOS titled, “Taking Action Against Weight Stigma.”

October 14, 2021

International Socioeconomics Laboratory Founder Ryan Ahmed presented his poster titled, “Fighting Back Against a Predatory Industry: A Case Example of Youth-Led Advocacy to Ban the Sale of Dangerous Diet Pills and Muscle Building Supplements to Minors” at the 23rd Society for Public Health Education’s (SOPHE) Advocacy Summit.

October 13, 2021

STRIPED Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Amanda Raffoul and STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin gave a talk titled, “Integrating Research-to-Policy Translation Skills into Public Health Professional Workforce Training: An Innovative Online Resource for Planning Policy Advocacy Campaigns” at the Society for Public Health Education’s (SOPHE) 23rd Annual Virtual Advocacy Summit.

October 8, 2021

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin discussed the recent revelation that Facebook has long known of Instagram’s harm to teens’ mental health in the latest Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health feature.

September 2, 2021

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin and STRIPED Youth Corps Member Joanne Chung talk about restricting the sale of over-the-counter diet pills to minors, eating disorder prevention, and recovery in 51 percent’s episode with host, Jesse King, tune in to the episode.

August 27, 2021

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin talks about the enormous cost of eating disorders to the US economy and share insights on what we could achieve if we applied the power of public health to solve our society’s problems with fat-shaming, the dieting industry, and the stickiness of stereotypes on the latest episode of Better Off, a podcast of the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health, hosted by Anna Fisher-Pinkert.

August 24, 2021

Read our STRIPED Fall 2021 Newsletter to find out more about what the STRIPED team has been working on and projects in the pipeline.

August 17, 2021

A new article by STRIPED Trainee Kelsey Rose, Collaborating Mentor Kendrin Sonneville, and Faculty Dr. Tracy Richmond, titled “The set point: Weight destiny established before adulthood” is published in the Current Opinion of Pediatrics.

A new article by STRIPED Fellow Dr. Amanda Raffoul and Visiting Scholar Dr. Lesley Williams, titled “Integrating Health at Every Size principles into adolescent care” is published in the Current Opinion of Pediatrics.

August 12, 2021

STRIPED Director and Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Dr. Bryn Austin, ScD, and the Executive Director of BE REAL USA, Denise Hamburger, JD, discussed how schools can create supportive learning environments that prevent weight stigma, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorders

August 11, 2021

STRIPED Faculty Dr. Tracy Richmond was quoted in an article titled, “As more teens are hospitalized for eating disorders, here’s what parents need to know”, on the dramatic surge of eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of specialists and psychotherapists who effectively treat eating disorders.

August 6, 2021

A new STRIPED article, joint first-authored by STRIPED Visiting Scholar, Dr. Suman Ambwani, and STRIPED Collaborating Mentor, Nicole Negowetti, JD, titled “Digging up the dirt on “clean” dietary labels: Public health considerations and opportunities for increased Federal oversight,” is published in the International Journal for Eating Disorders. Also on the team were STRIPED Collaborating Mentor, Dr. Rachel Rodgers, STRIPED Trainee, Stefani Karr, MPH, and STRIPED Director, Dr. Bryn Austin.

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin published a letter to the editor in the New York Times titled, “Coming to Terms with Weight Loss.”

Dr. Thomas B. Hildebrandt and STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin published an opinion editorial titled, “Keep the diet industry from feeding on teenagers’ fears.”

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin was quoted in an article titled, “Three states move to keep weight-loss supplements away from youth,” about the dangers of weight loss and muscle-building supplements on youth.

STRIPED Faculty Dr. Tracy Richmond was quoted in an article titled, “Eating Disorders Surged Among Adolescents in Pandemic,” about the rise in eating disorders cases among adolescents and young adults nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin was interviewed in a podcast with The Body Protest about eating disorders in adolescents and young adults by STRIPED Fellow and Body Image Researcher, Nadia Craddock and plus-sized writer and activist, Honey Ross.

May 24, 2021

STRIPED Faculty, Dr. Tracy Richmond, was quoted in the article, “Pandemic created ‘perfect storm’ for eating disorders in teens”, discussing the increase in the number of eating disorders cases in teenagers post-pandemic.

February 24, 2021

Celebrated author and founder of Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness Johanna Kandel, varsity swimmer, award-winning transgender rights activist, and eating disorders advocate Schuyler Bailar, and Dr. Bryn Austin, STRIPED Director, met for an inspiring Facebook Live discussion about eating disorders advocacy and the launch of our STRIPED Advocacy Playbook.

December 9, 2020

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin, along with Denise Hamburger, Founder and Executive Director of BE REAL hosted a virtual training session titled, “Body Confident Schools Training,” for primary and secondary school professionals.

September 14, 2020

STRIPED Visiting Scholar Laura Hart led a team of STRIPED fellows and collaborators on a Delphi study that offers a roadmap to address weight stigma incorporating voices from a diverse group of experts from public health, eating disorders, fat activism, and obesity.

June 24, 2020

In collaboration with the Academy for Eating Disorders and Deloitte Access Economics, STRIPED led an initiative to carry out the most comprehensive examination to date of the social and economic burden of eating disorders in the United States. This research estimated the financial implications of eating disorders for the health system, families, and individuals and loss of life and wellbeing due to the devastating impact of eating disorders on physical and mental health.

Our report was covered by several news outlets:

• The Academic Times, Insurance companies refuse to pick up bill for treating eating disorders
• The Seattle Lesbian, New findings on eating disorders as pandemic exacerbates problem
• Mental Health Weekly, Report finds untreated eating disorders costing U.S. billions
• HealthDay, Eating Disorders Cost Billions in the U.S.

November 20, 2019

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin was quoted in an article titled, “In an age of Photoshop, it’s what is real that counts – especially about our standards of beauty” on the boomerang effect of warning labels on photoshopped images, that is, that these labels on images increase body dissatisfaction among the women whose pictures were being taken.

June 5, 2019

A new STRIPED article, first authored and led by STRIPED trainee and graduate Flora Or, was published examining the risk of children and young adults experiencing serious adverse health events (including death) as a result of using dietary supplements sold for weight loss, muscle building, or energy. Also on the team was STRIPED trainee and graduate Yongjoo Kim. Several news outlets are covering these findings:

April 16, 2019 

Bryn Austin was quoted in an article titled, Councilman Wants to Keep Diet Pills Hawked by Cardi B, Kardashians Away from Minors, about the upcoming NYC bill to ban the sale of certain weight-loss supplements to minors in the city.

April 16, 2019 

STRIPED Director Bryn Austin was quoted in a People article about the Jameela Jamil- Kardashian feud over the promotion of dangerous detox teas.

April 9, 2019

US Weekly published the article, Harvard Scientist: Jameela Jamil Has Been More Effective Than FDA at Stopping Detox Teas, about an NBC News THINK op-ed written by Dr. Austin.

April 8, 2019

The Harvard Chan School of Public Health posted an article on their website about Bryn Austin’s NBC News THINK piece on the celebrity feud that’s led to headlines about the dangers of detox teas and other dietary supplements.

April 7, 2019 

STRIPED Director Bryn Austin published an opinion piece for NBC News THINK titled, “Kim Kardashian-Jameela Jamil feud has done more to expose detox tea lies than the FDA.” She discusses actor Jameela Jamil’s efforts to call out celebrities that are promoting dangerous dietary supplements on social media.

July 12, 2018 

Harvard Chan School of Public Health published a piece titled, “Could taxing diet pills keep them out of teens’ hands?.” This article discusses Bryn Austin and Nathan Tefft’s recent study exploring the possible effects of a tax on diet pills.

July 11, 2018

STRIPED Director Bryn Austin did a live broadcast interview on the Sirius XM radio show “Doctor Radio” to discuss the dangers of diet pills and supplements and public health strategies to protect youth. Listen to the interview by visiting the show’s archive site . Sirius XM offers a free 30-day trial!

June 6, 2018

Eileen Francis, reporter for the business publication Informa’s “The Pink Sheet,” published an article on STRIPED’s new study estimating the possible beneficial effect of adding a 20% tax on diet pills.

May 4, 2018 

The Harvard School of Public Health published an online article titled”‘Great leaps’ needed in research on prevention of eating disorders” about the recent STRIPED and Harvard Catalyst Eating Disorders Prevention Symposium!

February 20, 2018

Drs. Steven F. Crawford and Harry A. Brandt, co-directors of The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt, wrote a commentary on the STRIPED-led collaborative effort to urge the CDC to collect data on on eating disorders with their national surveys. The article, “30 million people will experience eating disorders- the CDC needs to help,” was published in the Capitol Hill paper The Hill.

February 4, 2018

Tom Pasternak, a local pharmacist who testified in support of Massachusetts H. 1195, wrote a piece advocating that harmful products in stores be locked up or moved behind the counter to protect young people. His opinion piece on H.1195, “Detergent pods not the only surprising poison hurting teens,” was published in The Herald News.

January 3, 2018

The dangers of dietary supplements, as well as STRIPED’s work on Massachusetts H. 1195, were outlined in the article, “Les Etats-Unis adorent les pilules,” published in the french newspaper Liberation.

December 28, 2017

STRIPED’s efforts to urge the CDC to monitor eating disorders in the U.S. were outlined in the Baltimore Sun op-ed, “Data Collection Critical to Understanding and Treating Eating Disorders,”  written by Dr. Crawford of the Sheppard Pratt Center for Eating Disorders.

November 15, 2017

The  journal “Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention” has named the article Accelerating Progress in Eating Disorders Prevention: A Call for Policy Translation Research and Training as one  of the top 25 most important articles in the journal’s history. This article explains STRIPED’s strategy to transform the field of eating disorders prevention.

September 26, 2017

STRIPED Director S. Bryn Austin weighed in on the negative effects of Photoshop on body image in an Insider article.  The article reports that Getty Images has banned from their site photos that have been edited to make women look thinner based on a 2015 law enacted in France to protect the health of models.

August 13, 2017

STRIPED Director S. Bryn Austin is quoted in a Business Insider article. Dr. Austin further outlines the lack of regulation in the supplement industry and the dangerous health risks associated with the likely adulteration of supplements sold as “natural” remedies and weight loss or muscle-building supplements.

July 10, 2017

STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin is quoted in a new article from Business Insider that discusses the health risks associated with supplements that are often used to build muscle, lose weight or increase sexual performance. Dr. Austin explains that many of these supplements contain unlisted ingredients, some of which can be linked to heart attack, stroke, infertility and cancer. You can access the article here.

June 28, 2017

Allegra Gordon, ScD, MPH, STRIPED Postdoctoral Research Fellow, recently published an insightful and informative blog post titled Shining a Light on Gender Identity and Eating Disorders. In her post, Allegra points to research that has identified an increased risk for eating disorders among transgender populations. She presents the key reasons why exploring the links between gender identify and eating disorders should be a top research priority for the near future.

May 30, 2017

A recent article published in the Harvard Chan School’s magazine Harvard Public Health highlights the cultural epidemic of “fat shaming” and its insidious impact on individuals’ mental and physical health. In the article, Monica Kriete, a STRIPED trainee, describes weight stigma as a “…toxic exposure, like air pollution. The more you breathe it in, the more it puts your physical and emotional health at risk.” STRIPED collaborators Erica Kenney and Tracy Richmond and STRIPED Director Bryn Austin are also interviewed. Check out the article here!

May 10, 2017

STRIPED Collaborating Mentor Rachel Rodgers was quoted in this Today Show article on how retail mannequins are unrealistically thin. Read more on how “Most mannequins are still too skinny — and it’s a serious problem” here! Great work, Rachel!

May 8, 2017

France has just published two decrees aimed at protecting the health well-being of fashion models and restricting the alteration of advertisements! Check out this article in the New York Times, which quotes STRIPED research collaborator and founder of the Model Alliance Sara Ziff as well as STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin.

April 24, 2017

STRIPED trainees Katelyn Ferreira and Monica Kriete were featured in the Wall Street Journal! “Why Some Scientists Are Embracing Activism” discusses scientists who are leaders in advocacy. Big congratulations to Monica and Katelyn!

April 14, 2017

STRIPED has just been awarded a new grant from the Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching for our project Transforming team-learning teaching cases for online platforms: Scaling up an e-learning module development project to expand reach across Harvard and to public health professionals in field settings. With this new grant, STRIPED will work with a multi-disciplinary team to continue to develop a new e-module for delivering teaching cases on-line to public health professionals! Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project!

April 6, 2017

Members of the STRIPED team traveled to Capitol Hill for Eating Disorders Coalition Advocacy Day!
Advocates encouraged Members of Congress to sign-on to a letter urging Secretary Price to begin the rulemaking process and implement eating disorders provisions included in the 21st Century Cures Act and asked for support for increased funding for eating disorders research in the military and among veterans and civilians. We are excited that STRIPED had the opportunity to advocate with community members from around the country on this important day!

STRIPED lobbying team – from left to right: Kimberly Yu, Monica Kriete, STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin, Supriya Misra, and Kuanysh Yergaliyev

March 16, 2017

Sports nurtitionist and blogger Nancy Clark, MS, RD, published this blog post on STRIPED and our work to use strategic science to accelerate eating disorders prevention. Check it out here!

February 27, 2017

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is February 26-March 4. Get involved and read this blog post by STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin on the importance of strategic science in eating disorders prevention here.

February 2, 2017

Check out these articles in BuzzFeed, VogueTeen VoguePaste, SeventeenFashion SpotWWDHuffington PostMicNPR, and from the Harvard Chan School on STRIPED Collaborating Mentor Rachel Rodgers’ new paper on policy translation strategies to address extreme thinness in the fashion industry! Read Dr. Rodgers’ paper published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders here!

October 17, 2016

STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin is quoted in this BuzzFeed article on the questionable practice of labeling children’s clothing based on size (i.e., “plus,” “husky,” or “slim”). Check it out here and read this article from the Harvard Chan School on how labels like these may be stigmatizing and contribute to body image issues among children.

September 22, 2016

Be sure to check out this webcast from Eating Disorders, Mental Health and Body Image: The Public Health Connectionsa forum at the Harvard Chan School featuring STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin, and take a look at this article in the Harvard Gazette covering the forum to learn about the multifaceted nature of eating disorders and how we can prevent them!

September 16, 2016

This week, STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin took part in two historic meetings in Washington, DC, along with other national leaders from the eating disorders community. One meeting at the Food and Drug Administration, on Tuesday, Sept. 13, addressed the eating disorders community’s concerns about the newly approved obesity treatment device AspireAssist. The second meeting, on Wednesday, Sept. 14, was the first-ever White House Roundtable on Eating Disorders. This meeting focused on the need for improved treatment access through mental health parity, expanded training for health professionals for early detection, and increased federal funding for research.

September 16, 2016

Don’t miss this letter by STRIPED Collaborating Mentor Rachel Rodgers, STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin, founder of Model Alliance Sara Ziff, and co-directors of Model Alliance Áine Campbell, Madeline Hill, and Meredith Hattam, written in response to Don’t Blame the Fashion World for the Cult of Skinny – Even Roald Dahl Plays His Part, an article written in The Guardian. Check out the letter, Size Diversity Plan Can Help Body Image, and read about how the fashion industry and its media representations play an important role in eating disorders.

September 9, 2016

STRIPED director Bryn Austin will be featured on a panel of experts at Eating Disorders, Mental Health and Body Image: The Public Health Connectionsa forum at the Harvard Chan School. Speakers at this event will explore the multi-faceted nature of eating disorders and discuss body image, risk factors, treatment, prevention, and more. Be sure to attend in person or watch the online webcast here!

August 31, 2016

STRIPED congratulates East Tennessee State University (ETSU) on receiving the inaugural Indoor Tan-Free Skin Smart Campus Award from the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention’s Indoor Tan-Free Skin Smart Campus Initiative! ETSU serves as a role model for colleges and universities across the nation and works to provide a safe and healthy environment for students, faculty, and staff by adopting the Skin Smart Campus indoor tan-free college campus policy. Learn how to tackle these issues in the classroom with our teaching case, Some Skin in the Game: Negotiating the End of a Campus Health Menacehere!

August 26, 2016

Check out this coverage of STRIPED faculty Jerel Calzo’s study, Gender Conformity and Use of Laxatives and Muscle-Building Products in Adolescents and Young Adults! Read the article here to learn more about how gender conformity is linked with laxative and muscle-building product use to change body shape and size.

August 25, 2016

We have just published our latest teaching case, “Patina of Glamour: Forging Alliances to Investigate the Underside of the Fashion Industry!” Be sure to check it out here and learn how community-based participatory research can be used to develop community partnerships to take on difficult problems like those faced by professional fashion models!

August 23, 2016

Be sure to read this blog post, Transforming Case-Method Teaching for Online Platforms, by STRIPED faculty Holly Gooding and STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin on our work to transform STRIPED teaching cases to interactive and innovative e-modules. This project will allow students and educators anywhere in the world to access STRIPED cases and learn from our curriculum! Stay tuned as we pilot a prototypal e-learning module this fall and move on to our entire case library!

August 1, 2016

Congrats to STRIPED faculty Jerel Calzo, who is featured in the New York Times article, Attention, Teenagers: Nobody Really Looks Like That, for his recent study, Gender Conformity and Use of Laxatives and Muscle-Building Products in Adolescents and Young Adults. Shout-out to STRIPED Collaborating Mentor Rachel Rodgers, who is also quoted in this article. Check out the article here to read about the link between gender conformity and laxative and muscle-building product use to modify body shape and size. Keep up the good work, Jerel and Rachel!

August 1, 2016

Check out these podcasts from the Centre for Appearance Research on the importance of body image research! Listen in to episode 4 to learn why body image and appearance are social justice issues and check out this bonus episode featuring STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin’s keynote address at the Appearance Matters 7 Conference on policy translation research and training to prevent body dissatisfaction. Special thanks to Nadia Craddock of the Centre for putting these together!

July 29, 2016

The latest STRIPED newsletter has just been published! Check it out here to read about what we have been up to!

June 28, 2016

STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin gave the keynote address, Accelerating Progress in Prevention of Body Dissatisfaction: A Call for Policy Translation Research and Training, at the Appearance Matters Conference in Bristol, UK. Thank you to Eleanor Beer for this amazing graphic on the keynote address!

June 2, 2016

World Eating Disorders Action Day was on June 2, 2016! Activists from around the world joined together to increase awareness and understanding of eating disorders as serious, treatable illnesses. Learn more about how you can get involved here!

May 25, 2016

Congratulations to STRIPED trainee and founder and executive director of Model Alliance Sara Ziff on being nominated for the Barbara Jordan Award for Women’s Leadership! This award from the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School honors student commitment to building community and serving as a role model for other women aspiring to be leaders. Keep up the good work, Sara!

May 24, 2016

Huge congratulations to all of our graduating STRIPED trainees and to STRIPED faculty Jerel Calzo! Thank you for all your amazing work with STRIPED and best of luck on your future endeavors!

Jerel Calzo, PhD, MPH, Harvard Chan School
Elizabeth Cheever, MS, Harvard Chan School
Anvita Kulkarni, MS, Harvard Chan School
Aryn Phillips, MPH, Harvard Chan School
Marysa Sheren, EdM, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Suzanne Wintner, MPH, Harvard Chan School
Sara Ziff, MPP, Harvard Kennedy School

Bon voyage to Trine Tetlie Eik-Nes, who will be returning to Norway next week to resume her doctoral studies!

May 16, 2016

All five installments of CNN Money’s investigative series on exploitation in the modeling industry, Runway Injustice, have been released! Read The Dark SideOutrageous CostsThe Housing TrapInside Look, and Horrifying Scams and check out the video here to learn why we need California AB 2539 to protect models now!

May 12, 2016

Read about The Outrageous Cost of Being a Model and The ‘Model Apartment’ Trap in CNN Money‘s second and third installments of its 5-part investigative series on the modeling industry, Runway Injustice, or check out the video here. Learn why California AB 2539 is needed to change this problem here and stay tuned for more from this new series!

May 6, 2016

California AB 2539 is featured on the Harvard Chan School podcast, This Week in Health. Tune in to Making the Modeling Industry Safer to hear from STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin and founder and executive director of the Model Alliance Sara Ziff on why this groundbreaking new legislation is so important.

May 5, 2016

Economic exploitation of models is a pressing problem in the fashion industry, as shown in this CNN Money article, How the modeling industry exploits young and vulnerable workers. Read more about this issue and see why California AB 2539, a collaboration between Assemblymember Marc Levine, Model Alliance, National Eating Disorders Association, and STRIPED, is so urgently needed to protect models.

April 29, 2016

Learn about our work to regulate the dietary supplements industry and target dangerous products sold for weight loss and muscle building with a visual presentation of our Research-to-Policy Translation paper featuring the Stop Feeding Kids Lies Campaign!

April 26, 2016

The Indoor Tan-Free Skin Smart Campus Initiative, which works with U.S. universities and colleges to promote skin cancer prevention policy and education on school campuses, has launched their website! Check out their education resources featuring our STRIPED teaching caseSome Skin in the Game: Negotiating the End of a Campus Health Menace, here.

April 25, 2016

California AB 2539 is featured in the Harvard Chan School News in the article, California Introduces Legislation to Regulate Modeling Industry. Read more about STRIPED’s work to get this important legislation passed here!

April 19, 2016

Members of the STRIPED team traveled to Capitol Hill for the Eating Disorders Coalition Congressional Lobby Day in support of the Anna Westin Act! This bill would provide training for health professionals and teachers to learn about eating disorders intervention and prevention, require the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the deleterious effects of digitally altered images on body image, and ensure that health insurance companies provide full coverage for eating disorders treatment. We are excited that STRIPED had the opportunity to advocate for this important legislation!

STRIPED lobbying team – From left to right: Alice Lowy, STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin, and Kajal Mehta

April 6, 2016

California AB 2539 was passed by the State Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment! Special thanks to Assemblymember Marc Levine for his leadership and to STRIPED’s advocacy partners, Model Alliance and NEDA, for their excellent teamwork at the California Assembly to score this crucial first victory for the bill!! Take a look at these articles covering the bill from the International Business TimesReutersSacramento Bee,  and Capitol Public Radio, and check out STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin’s comments on the importance of this bill in the San Jose Mercury News.

April 1, 2016

California AB 2539 was featured on the Today Show! Check out the clip here and learn more about this groundbreaking initiative to protect fashion model health from California Assemblymember Marc Levine, STRIPED, Model Alliance, and the National Eating Disorders Association.

March 28, 2016

STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin was featured in From the Runway to the Factory Floor: Labor Rights, Safety & Public Health, on March 22, at the Harvard Kennedy School. Other panelists were Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS), Iskra Lawrence, model and ambassador of Aerie’s anti-retouching, body positive campaign, Annemarie Strassel, Director of Communications for Unite Here, a workers union, and Ashley Mears, Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Panelists discussed worker rights in the garment and fashion industries and addressed steps toward change. Special thanks to the Model Alliance and founder and executive director Sara Ziff for sponsoring and organizing this panel and to all the other panelists for their important work and leadership. Check out clips from the event below! Thanks to Patricia Garcia-Rios for the video footage!

March 8, 2016

Read the latest from the Orange County Register on California AB 2539, a bill protecting fashion model health and wellbeing. Drs. Jerel Calzo and Bryn Austin comment on the importance of this new legislation and the dangers of eating disorders and coerced starvation in the fashion industry for both men and women.

March 7, 2016

STRIPED faculty Dr. Jerel Calzo is quoted in “The Always Hungry Teenage Boy,” a  new blog post in the New York Times! Calzo comments on male body image and the dangers of excess protein consumption, especially in the form of protein supplements. Read the blog post here to learn how we can ensure that adolescent boys are eating in a healthy way.

February 23, 2016

With the leadership of California Assemblymember Marc Levine, California has just taken a huge step toward protecting the health and rights of fashion models! A new bill, California AB 2539, has been filed in the state legislature that would protect the well-being of fashion models and clarify that models are employees rather than independent contractors, ensuring that models are granted worker protection rights that all employees have in the U.S. This bill was sparked by STRIPED legal research led by Katherine Record, STRIPED Collaborating Mentor, reported in the recent American Journal of Public Health article “Paris thin: A call to regulate life-threatening starvation of runway models in the U.S. fashion industry.” Special thanks to Cassandra Soltis, an attorney at Starbucks and a dedicated advocate who volunteered her time with STRIPED to carry out the legal research supporting this bill. We’re very excited about this major legislative advance achieved through our academic-community-government partnership with the National Eating Disorders AssociationModel Alliance, and Assemblymember Levine. Stay tuned for more news on this exciting new policy initiative and check out the other great events happening now during National Eating Disorders Awareness Week!

February 11, 2016

STRIPED is in Newsweek magazine spreading the word about the occupational hazards fashion runway models face. In this new article, “For Runway Models, High Fashion Means a Dangerously Low BMI,” STRIPED director Bryn Austin comments on coerced starvation in the fashion industry. Read more about how we can address this problem in this editorial in the American Journal of Public Health by STRIPED Collaborating Mentor Katherine Record and Austin.

February 5, 2016

STRIPED has just been awarded a new grant from the Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching for our project “Transforming team-learning teaching cases in public health for online platforms: An e-learning module development project.” We can’t wait to get started transforming our STRIPED teaching cases on eating disorders prevention and thank HILT for this exciting opportunity!

January 21, 2016

Why are body image and appearance social justice issues? Listen in to STRIPED director Bryn Austin’s conversation with Nadia Craddock of the Centre for Appearance Research in this podcast, episode #4, for the upcoming Appearance Matters conference in London.

December 21-22, 2015

STRIPED Collaborating Mentor in Health Policy Katherine Record, JD, MPH, and Director Bryn Austin, ScD, call for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to regulate the fashion industry to stop coerced starvation and to put an end to “Paris thin” in a new editorial in American Journal of Public Health. Check out Record and Austin’s blogpost in U.S. News & World Report, a feature on the Harvard Chan School website, and interviews with Good Morning AmericaNPRWBUR, and MedicalResearch.com.

December 1, 2015

We all know that working out at a gym is healthy, but what if your gym sells potentially dangerous dietary supplements? Learn more about what you can do with STRIPED’s newest teaching case: Full of Surprises: Dietary Supplements and the Gym, Or, a Tale of Corporate Social Responsibility

November 19, 2015

The manufacturers of muscle-building supplements Jack3d and OxyElite Pro have been arrested by the U.S. Justice Department for using synthetic stimulants in their products. STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin comments on the dangers of tainted supplements in this CBS news article.

November 6, 2015

Dietary supplements and Massachusetts House Bill No. 3471 were featured on the Harvard Chan School’s podcast, Harvard Chan: This Week in HealthListen in at the 5-minute mark to hear STRIPED director S. Bryn Austin weigh in on the dangers of these products.

November 2, 2015

The dangers of dietary supplements made news in the Boston Globe again with this article on supplement use among military personnel and young athletes. Learn more about STRIPED’s Stop Feeding Kids Lies campaign to regulate the sale of dietary supplements for weight loss and muscle building in Massachusetts for youth under the age of 18 years.

October 29, 2015

A dedicated group of STRIPED trainees traveled to Capitol Hill for the Eating Disorders Coalition Congressional Lobby Day in support of the Anna Westin Act, the first eating-disorders specific bill in U.S. history to be introduced in Congress with bipartisan sponsors in both chambers! Legislative advocacy is a crucial skill for public health professionals, and STRIPED trainees experienced the power of advocacy and policy translation as they raised congressional awareness of this important bill as well as the urgent problem of eating disorders.

STRIPED Team at EDC Lobby Day
STRIPED lobbying group –  From left to right: Anvita Kulkarni, Jill Ann Goslinga, STRIPED director Bryn Austin, Katherine Howe, Katie Cueva, Cindy Hu, and Mary Gorski (not pictured)

October 14, 2015

The Boston Globe reports that dietary supplements send at least 23,000 people to the hospital each year. Read this story here and learn more about why House Bill No. 3471 is so important!

October 8, 2015

The Harvard Chan School has published a web feature story on the Stop Feeding Kids Lies campaign, featuring Harvard Chan students Alvin Tran and Mary Gorski! Check out the story here.

HSPH Photo
STRIPED Director Bryn Austin and Harvard Chan School doctoral student Alvin Tran on the Massachusetts State House grounds – Photo by Emily Cuccarese

October 5, 2015

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) awarded us a new grant to support our comparative cost-effectiveness study of eating disorders prevention strategies! We are excited to begin work on this new project and thank NEDA for this wonderful opportunity!

September 22, 2015

The hearing for Massachusetts House Bill No. 3471 on September 17 was a huge success! Legislators, advocates, clinicians, and experts shared powerful testimony in support of this bill, outnumbering our opposition 8:1! Thanks to everyone who has supported this campaign and helped Massachusetts move one step closer to taking real action to protect minors and all consumers from too often dangerous and sometimes lethal dietary supplements sold for weight loss and muscle building!

September 10, 2015

We had a great time at the public briefing for the Stop Feeding Kids Lies Campaign at the Massachusetts State House on September 9!  Thanks to all our speakers, advocates, attendees, and everyone else who helped to put this event together! Stay tuned for more news on this important work!

Advocates Cropped
Advocates and campaign organizers at the Stop Feeding Kids Lies lobby day and briefing at the Massachusetts State House

September 9, 2015

STRIPED is in the Boston Globe! Read about our campaign to protect Massachusetts children and adolescents from deceptive and dangerous dietary supplements sold for weight loss and muscle building. Dan Fabricant, chief lobbyist for the supplements industry, thinks our campaign is “crazy,” but he ignores the rigorous scientific research proving this bill is anything but.

August 13, 2015

Join the Stop Feeding Kids Lies Campaign and support the fight for safer supplements in Massachusetts! STRIPED, the Multi-service Eating Disorders Association, and the National Eating Disorders Association invite you to join our campaign for MA House Bill No. 3471. This is your chance to get hands-on experience in translating public health research into policy action right here in the Massachusetts State Legislature! Learn more about this invaluable opportunity here!

June 26, 2015

STRIPED is turning research into action with a new bill in the Massachusetts state legislature this fall. This bill, written by the STRIPED team in partnership with Massachusetts Rep. Kay Khan, the Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association, and the Eating Disorders Coalition, calls for a ban on the sale of all weight loss and muscle building supplements for youth under the age of 18 years. As research shows that these supplements can be particularly dangerous for young people, this bill demands state action. On September 17, 2015, a hearing for this bill will take place at the Massachusetts State House with a lobby day and briefing held a week before. Stay tuned for more news!

May 13, 2015

With the generous support of the Ellen Feldberg Gordon Challenge Fund for Eating Disorders Research, members of the STRIPED team returned to Capitol Hill to join forces with the Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) and other advocates for the EDC Congressional Lobby Day. During the course of the day, STRIPED members met with legislative representatives and staffers to garner support for the Anna Westin Act. This new bill would open up training grants to teach health professionals and teachers about eating disorders and how to intervene and prevent them, encourage the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the deleterious effects of airbrushed photos on body image, and require that health insurance companies provide full coverage for eating disorders treatment. It was an exciting day as STRIPED trainees experienced the power of advocacy and raised congressional awareness to the urgent problem of eating disorders.

EDC lobby day 2015
From left to right: STRIPED Director Bryn Austin, Katherine Heflin, Jill Merrigan, Nadia Craddock, Grace Kennedy

April 22, 2015

Today Phillippa Diedrichs, PhD, from the Centre for Appearance Research in the United Kingdom bridged the distance between the European Union and the United States with her presentation at the Harvard Chan School on her trailblazing academic-corporate partnership with Dove to disseminate evidence-based eating disorders prevention programs on a massive scale throughout Europe. It was an exciting chance to learn more about the inner workings of a partnership between a corporation and public health professionals with the goal of eating disorders prevention.

April 21, 2015

Today STRIPED trainee Allegra Gordon presented her dissertation, Gender Expression, Discrimination and Health Among U.S. Adolescents and Young Adults: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. The presentation included findings from two studies examining the relationships between gender and mental and physical health in heterosexual and sexual minority adolescents and young adults as well as an overview of findings from Project Body Talk, a first-of-its-kind qualitative study of disordered weight and shape control behaviors among young transgender women in New England. This exciting dissertation work was partially supported by the STRIPED Dissertation Award in Eating Disorders Prevention Research. Congratulations to Dr. Gordon!

March 27, 2015

STRIPED is translating research into action! Today, a new piece of legislation, which was written by the STRIPED team and will prohibit the sale of dietary supplements sold for weight loss or muscle building to minors, was filed with the Massachusetts State Legislature. This bill is sponsored by Rep. Kay Khan of Newton, MA, and is a direct result of research and advocacy by the STRIPED team and our community partners, the Multi-service Eating Disorders Association and the Eating Disorders Coalition, on the dangers of these supplements and how to protect young people from unscrupulous marketers. Check out our legislative fact sheet to learn more about what states can do to protect their youth from these harmful supplements.

March 24, 2015

STRIPED Director Dr. Bryn Austin’s letter to the editor was published today in the New York Times. In the letter, Dr. Austin responded to a recent New York Times article on fat talk and called for women and girls to join together to challenge the beauty industry and the toxic ideals it perpetuates.

March 23, 2015

Earlier this month, Dr. Jean Kilbourne, an internationally acclaimed speaker on addictions, gender issues, and the media, presented, “Falling in Love with Food: Advertising and Public Health” at the Harvard Chan School. During her talk, Dr. Kilbourne discussed the food industry’s deliberate exploitation of food addictions and the effects of media on body image and eating disorders in both men and women across the age spectrum. This eye-opening talk, sponsored by STRIPED, the Health Communications Concentration and the Department of Nutrition, reached a wide audience, including students and faculty from across departments and staff from the Longwood Medical Area. Click here to read more!

February 24, 2015

This week’s Sport Science Institute e-newsletter from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) featured the release of our newest STRIPED teaching case, “Weighing the Evidence: One University Takes a Hard Look at Disordered Eating Among Athletes,”with a Q&A between Dr. S. Bryn Austin and STRIPED scholar Dr. Emily Kroshus.  Dr. Kroshus was instrumental in making this teaching case a reality as she wrote the teaching note and was the lead expert in the development of the case story. Through the NCAA e-newsletter, the case will reach athletic trainers, coaches, and others interested in college sport and health from all across the country!

UPDATE: March 10, 2015

STRIPED’s latest teaching case is making waves on campus at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with this article on the NCAA’s promotion of “Weighing the Evidence: One University Takes a Hard Look at Disordered Eating Among Athletes.”

January 16, 2015

This past October, STRIPED trainees and other like-minded groups met with members of Congress and discussed the need for a Dear Colleague letter to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), urging a change in the CDC’s publicized information on BMI screening in schools. Only a month later, that letter was sent to Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the CDC. On January 16, 2015, Dr. Frieden and the CDC responded with a newly created webpage on the Healthy Youth website, which makes good on the changes advocates recommended. The new webpage now outlines safeguards schools should put in place when conducting BMI screenings and also reiterates that there is insufficient evidence that these screenings are effective in preventing or reducing childhood obesity and may in fact be harmful to students. These changes are a direct result of the dialogue between advocates and members of Congress and are an inspiring example of how advocacy can spark action even at the highest reaches of government!

December 17, 2014

In collaboration with the Eating Disorders Coalition and the Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA), Beth Mayer, LICSW, Executive Director of MEDA, and STRIPED Director, Dr. S. Bryn Austin, Co-Director, Dr. Christina Roberto, and Affiliated Faculty, Jennifer Pomeranz, JD, MPH, met with Massachusetts Representative Kay Khan and her Legislative Director Emily Szargowicz to discuss steps Massachusetts can take to protect its young people from the deleterious effects of dietary supplements sold for weight control and muscle building. Click here to learn more about this category of supplements and what states can do prevent harm to their youth.

November 21, 2014

Last week a congressional Dear Colleague letter was sent to Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urging him to establish additional guidelines on in-school BMI screenings. The letter was spearheaded by the Eating Disorder Coalition and signed by 24 members of Congress, STRIPED, and other advocates. Without the presence of properly trained personnel, supportive environments, and accompanying information during in-school BMI screenings, this practice may worsen weight stigma and increase the risk of eating disorders in students. The need for this congressional Dear Colleague letter was described to members of Congress and their legislative aides by STRIPED trainees and other like-minded groups on Capitol Hill during the Eating Disorders Coalition Congressional Lobby Day in October.

October 23, 2014

In response to lobbying efforts by STRIPED and like-minded groups at the Eating Disorders Coalition Congressional Lobby Day on Capitol Hill on October 1, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced just two weeks later a commitment to making important changes to publicized information on BMI screening in schools on the CDC’s website. These changes include adding cautionary language to their online BMI calculator, developing webinars and updating webpage information on BMI screening. These changes are an exciting reflection of the power of advocacy!

October 1, 2014

With the generous support of the Ellen Feldberg Gordon Challenge Fund for Eating Disorders Research, STRIPED offered for the first time travel scholarships for trainees to attend the Eating Disorders Coalition Congressional Lobby Day on Capitol Hill. STRIPED was represented by a diverse group of passionate students, researchers, and clinicians who traveled to meet with members of Congress and their staff to tell them in their own words about the devastating impact of eating disorders and the urgent need for prevention. Putting democracy into action, our team joined like-minded people from all walks of life and from all across the country to convey to our national leaders how urgent the problem of eating disorders is and how vast the suffering and injustice in access to care and evidence-based prevention. We were thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response from STRIPED trainees, eager to get involved in policy advocacy on eating disorders.

EDC Lobby Day 2014 cropped
From left to right: (back row) Alvin Tran, Morgan Shields, Nadia Craddock, Sonja Swanson, Kendrin Sonneville STRIPED Collaborating Mentor, Luke Allen, Morgan Redman, Jill Merrigan, Carly Guss, (front row) STRIPED Director Bryn Austin and Co-Director Christina Roberto

September 24, 2014

This September, STRIPED Affiliated Faculty Jennifer Pomeranz was interviewed by Philadelphia’s NPR station WHYY on a recently published article by the STRIPED team about the shady business of dietary supplements sold for weight control and muscle building and what state governments can do to help better protect youth and consumers of all ages from these too-often dangerous products.

August 4, 2014

Check out STRIPED Collaborating Mentor Kendrin Sonneville’s interview on WBUR Radio’s website about a groundbreaking study by the STRIPED team showing for the first time how cost effective school-based screening for eating disorders could be if screening were done in schools across the country.

May 29, 2014

Congratulations to our newest STRIPED graduates: Grant Barbosa, JD, Kelly Bauer, BA, Samantha Glover, JD, Brigitte Granger, MS, Emily Kroshus, ScD, MPH, and Hyungi LeAnn Noh, MS. Kudos to another outstanding STRIPED cohort bringing their talents to bear on eating disorders prevention!

May 27, 2014

Congratulations to STRIPED doctoral student Allegra Gordon for receiving the Harvard School of Public Health 2013-14 Teaching Assistant Recognition Award, the school’s highest honor for outstanding teaching assistants. Stellar work, Allegra!

May 24, 2014

STRIPED Collaborating Mentor Kendrin Sonneville and Consulting Expert Michael Long taught STRIPED’s teaching case “‘The Governor Is Very Interested’: Or, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for School Health Screenings” to students enrolled in the Harvard Medical School Global Clinical Scholars Research Training Program (GCSRT) on May 24th. Students in the GCSRT program hail from 22 nations around the world and are all faculty-level clinicians working in clinical research in their respective countries. The teaching case, developed by the STRIPED team, including Collaborating Mentor in Health Economics Mihail Samnaliev and Case Writer Eric Weinberger, combines learning objectives on eating disorders prevention with an introduction to principles of cost-effectiveness analysis. Check out this case and others from STRIPED here. The STRIPED teaching case development program is supported by the Ellen Feldberg Gordon Challenge Fund for Eating Disorders Research and U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau/HRSA training grant MC00001.

August 6, 2013

STRIPED in Harvard Chan School News: STRIPED is featured on the Harvard Chan School homepage in a story about the need to make eating disorders prevention a higher priority on the public health agenda.

July 23, 2013

STRIPED in the Harvard Chan School Summer Hot Topics Series: Check out Dr. Austin’s talk “Getting Eating Disorders Prevention on the Public Health Agenda” about STRIPED and our wide-ranging work at the school and beyond.

July 15, 2013

STRIPED in the Boston Globe: Dr. Calzo was featured in a Globe editorial about the need for schools to do more to address eating disorders among students, especially male students.

July 13, 2013

STRIPED debuts in the Huffington Post: Highlighting the links between obesity and eating disorders, this article lauds STRIPED for our innovative approach to tackling these thorny issues.

April 22, 2012

STRIPED in the SAVOR blog: Dr. Sonneville wrote about dieting among children as a guest blogger for the SAVOR: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life blog.

March 9, 2012

STRIPED in Patch.com: Dr. Austin was interviewed for an article addressing eating disorders, obesity, and the Massachusetts legislative briefing on eating disorders screening in high schools.

April 14, 2010

STRIPED in two podcasts with Dr. Austin and Dr. Kelly Brownell, Director of the Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, discussing strategies for preventing disordered weight control behaviors and the reasons why eating disorders prevention will be crucial to efforts to curb the increasing rates of obesity.

September 3, 2007

STRIPED in an interview with Dr. Austin discussing Planet Health, an obesity prevention program for middle schools, and its protective effect in reducing disordered weight control behaviors in girls.