The Fast Track Trial is a trial in Australia that is being done to determine the efficacy of intermittent fasting for weight loss in teens. My amazing guest, Louise Adams, has spent the last year actively trying to get the trial stopped because it is unethical. The connection between dieting, especially fasting, and the development of eating disorders is quite strong. This is particularly concerning in relation to young people. She has collected studies, letters of support from medical professionals and organizations in Australia, as well as over 20,000 signatures from around the world on a change.org petition opposing the trial. Unfortunately, her efforts have been unsuccessful and the trial is proceeding.
Content Warning: This episode includes information about fasting, eating disorders, weight change, and a brief discussion of normal adolescent weight gain.
In this episode, we discuss:
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A bit about who Louise is and how she started working with eating disorders and the HAES movement
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A description of the Fast Track Trial
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Reasons why dieting can lead to eating disorders, particularly in teens
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How Louise has been fighting against the trial going forward
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What risks are not being fully explained to participants
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What the initial results of an initial study mean in practical terms
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Who the people behind the trial are
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And much more!
Resources:
Untrapped website
FB group for Stop the Fast Track Trial
Parent information for the Fast Track Trial
That Time I Was in a Child Weight Loss Study link:
About Louise: Louise Adams is a clinical psychologist, the founder of Treat Yourself Well Sydney and the creator of the UNTRAPPED online program and community. She has written two books, Mindful Moments and The Non-Diet Approach Handbook for Psychologist and Counsellors (with Fiona Willer, APD). She has been practicing in this field for more than 20 years. Louise is Vice President of Health At Every Size Australia.
She has a special interest in problematic eating, body image, and weight struggles. Louise fights to educate people about the cruel trap of dieting, which only sets us up to fail. She uses an evidence-based anti-dieting approach to empower people to achieve permanent lifestyle change.
Louise is wholly committed to the Heath At Every Size (HAES) movement, and to spreading the word about shifting our attitudes about weight and health. Louise is determined to make a difference in changing society’s perceptions about health, diets, weight loss, and bodies. Louise believes that people can approach health and happiness without attaching it to weight changes. She is for body diversity and against fat prejudice.
As well as her work with individual clients at her private practice, Louise conducts workshops and conferences for the general public and health professionals interested in changing their approach to weight issues. Louise is the host of the popular podcast All Fired Up!, and often turns up in magazines, newspapers, radio, and on television to spread her message. She blogs, she tweets, and she never shuts up about these issues!
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