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Apple to Donate 1,000 Apple Watches to Eating Disorder Study

Monday October 15, 2018 3:45 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is donating 1,000 Apple Watches to a new study that aims to track biological changes in people with eating disorders (via CNBC).

The University of North Carolina's medical school will conduct the study, which is called BEGIN (or the Binge Eating Genetics Initiative), to better understand overeating disorders in which people eat large amounts of food uncontrollably in a small period of time.


People who purge or engage in excessive bouts of exercise following the binge are usually diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. The study will enroll 1,000 participants of ages 18 or older who have experience with either binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa.

Each participant will be given a free Apple Watch, courtesy of Apple, so that researchers can monitor their heart rate to see if there are any spikes prior to binge eating episodes.

Enrolled participants will also sign up with a mobile app called Recovery Record, which they can use to log their thoughts and feelings, to be shared with a healthcare professional ahead of a session.

In addition, participants will receive tests to analyze their genetics and bodily bacteria that the researchers can better understand the root causes of the disease.
"We need to collect data from a whole lot of people to see what it looks like," said Cynthia Bulik, founding director of the Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders and author of Binge Control: A Compact Recovery Guide. "We want to know if it has a biological and behavioral signature."
Ultimately, researchers hope the collected data might help them to predict binge eating episodes before they happen. Ideally, this could result in a follow-up study in which participants received some kind of alert when they were at risk of binge eating.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, at least 30 million people in the United States suffer from an eating disorder, yet the field of research remains underfunded.

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[ 49 comments ]


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max.ine
12 months ago
Interesting. I still think the health features are one of the biggest, coolest, most important things an Apple Watch (or any smartwatch) can provide right now.
Rating: 13 Votes
Avatar
allenvanhellen
12 months ago

It's all the watch has to offer. All it's other functions are already done by your phone.

I didn’t realize my iPhone could show me notifications without my taking it out of my pocket ;)
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
mgauss7
12 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/15/apple-donate-1000-apple-watches-eating-study/')


Apple is donating 1,000 Apple Watches to a new study that aims to track biological changes in people with eating disorders (via CNBC ('https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/14/apple-is-donating-1000-watches-for-a-new-study-to-track-binge-eating.html')).

The University of North Carolina's medical school will conduct the study, which is called BEGIN ('https://www.med.unc.edu/psych/eatingdisorders/research/participate-in-a-study/begin-study/') (or the Binge Eating Genetics Initiative ('https://www.med.unc.edu/psych/eatingdisorders/research/participate-in-a-study/begin-study/')), to better understand overeating disorders in which people eat large amounts of food uncontrollably in a small period of time.



People who purge or engage in excessive bouts of exercise following the binge are usually diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. The study will enroll 1,000 participants of ages 18 or older who have experience with either binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa.

Each participant will be given a free Apple Watch, courtesy of Apple, so that researchers can monitor their heart rate to see if there are any spikes prior to binge eating episodes.

Enrolled participants will also sign up with a mobile app called Recovery Record ('https://itunes.apple.com/app/recovery-record-eating-disorder/id457360959#?platform=appleWatch'), which they can use to log their thoughts and feelings, to be shared with a healthcare professional ahead of a session.

In addition, participants will receive tests to analyze their genetics and bodily bacteria that the researchers can better understand the root causes of the disease.
Ultimately, researchers hope the collected data might help them to predict binge eating episodes before they happen. Ideally, this could result in a follow-up study in which participants received some kind of alert when they were at risk of binge eating.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, at least 30 million people in the United States suffer from an eating disorder, yet the field of research remains underfunded ('https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5608830/').

Article Link: Apple to Donate 1,000 Apple Watches to Eating Disorder Study ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/15/apple-donate-1000-apple-watches-eating-study/')

I need another Apple Watch to control my obsessive purchasing in a short time of Apple products.
[doublepost=1539604215][/doublepost]Brilliant so for a $200,000 gift Apple gets 200 million worth of PR.
Rating: 5 Votes
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newyorksole
12 months ago

You can see clearly how evident Apple is focusing on the health aspects moving forward with the Apple Watch, and serious as an issue this really is for those who may struggle with eating disorders, I think this data could be valuable to have a Better understanding of the disorder.


Jeez is that you in your profile picture? Wow.

I wonder what made Apple choose this specific disorder. Pretty cool though.
Rating: 4 Votes
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garylapointe
12 months ago

All it's other functions are already done by your phone.


Except I do NOT need to pull out my phone! This is while driving or bicycling or in a meeting.

I can prioritize what goes to the watch and what does not. I can set silent alarms and other things to make my life a little more streamlined.
Rating: 4 Votes
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mw360
12 months ago

Let me guess... Donating a 1,000 treadmills would be offensive to overweight people??

:rolleyes:


Although you don't get a free Watch, you can embark on your own little study to better understand eating disorders...by reading the article you're responding to...

People who purge or engage in excessive bouts of exercise following the binge are usually diagnosed with bulimia nervosa.
Rating: 4 Votes
Avatar
Ntombi
12 months ago

“People who purge or engage in excessive bouts of exercise following the binge”

A lot of guys that go to my gym fit into that description, at least the “excessive exercising exercise” part...

Yes, EDs are under diagnosed in men for several reasons, including the fact that their symptoms often fit more easily into societal norms. A man who is seen as obsessed with keeping fit or building muscle at the gym isn’t suspected of having an eating disorder.
Rating: 3 Votes
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Ntombi
12 months ago

perhaps they can come up with a study to cure ignorance next :rolleyes:

That’s gonna take more than a thousand watches!
Rating: 3 Votes
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bstpierre
12 months ago
I am signed up for a study that is looking to correlate the data from the Apple Watch with data collected by your doctor and looking to understand the relationship between diseases and quality of life. My role will be to wear an apple watch daily and take my blood pressure twice a day for 45 days. Then blood pressure monthly and surveys quarterly for up to 3 years. I get to keep the watch and the blood pressure cuff. I haven't gotten the watch yet. My appointment is in November. They did ask if I wanted the 38mm or the 42mm watch. We will see what I get.
Rating: 3 Votes
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AJClayton
12 months ago

You can specify which arm you use and where the digital crown is. I technically wear my watch backwards (upside down) on my left arm, but I find I don't activate Siri accidentally nearly as often as I had been. If I moved my watch from my left arm to my right with the "standard" orientation, it would look exactly like the photo.


Yep, you're absolutely right. I hadn't considered that someone would set the orientation to left but wear it on their right wrist. For a mock up I still think they probably made a mistake, but I'll get my coat and shuffle off stage left... or perhaps stage right facing left. ;)
Rating: 2 Votes

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