Sanford Research Center Gets Grant for Eating Disorder Research

We talk a lot about medical research here. It’s important to focus on ongoing research projects. There’s a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, public health is impacted by the research, and the results of that research. And it’s also important to talk about it because it’s interesting to stay ahead of what’s going on. Mental health research is especially important. With so many people all over the world struggling with these disorders, more needs to be done. Something that’s not spoken about nearly enough? Eating disorders, and the damage they cause. Eating disorders have the second highest mortality of any mental health disorder category. That’s why it’s important for more research to be conducted. Which is why it’s fantastic to hear about an NIH grant awarded to the Sanford Research Center for BioBehavioral Research.

This $12 million grant awarded to Sanford will focus on the development for a comprehensive center of scientific research in the area of eating disorders.

So, we need to talk more about this. Before we get into this, let me share a listed grant with you on this topic. Here are grants for USA nonprofits and tribal organizations and agencies to provide health services for underserved populations.

Research on Eating Disorders Is Important: Let’s Talk About It

To begin with, we can start with some numbers. Eating disorders impact at least 9% of people worldwide. In the United States, 9% of the people, or 30 million Americans will experience an eating disorder throughout their lifetime. Men are significantly less likely to report an eating disorder than women.

Here are some of the most common eating disorders:

• Anorexia Nervosa: According to the NEDA,  0.3-0.4% of young women and 0.1% of young men will experience anorexia.
• Bulimia Nervosa: Throughout their lifetime, 1.5% of women and 0.5% of men will develop bulimia
• Binge Eating Disorder: One of the most common eating disorders, 3.5% of women and 2% of men will develop binge-eating disorder.

There’s a very high association of people who develop an eating disorder to have a co-morbid mental health issue. This includes a very high rate of eating disorders among people with people with autism.

So, this kind of research could be absolutely critical.

So How Will This Grant Award Help?

This grant will support the development of a comprehensive center of scientific research in this field. Specifically, this grant will allow Sanford health, together with partners and collaborators, to develop an absolutely cutting edge scientific center. The goal is for this center to significantly impact the lives of individuals suffering from eating disorders.

Some of Sanford’s partners on this grant, include

• North Dakota State University
• The University of North Dakota

Here’s what Sanford Health Researcher Dr. Stephen Wonderlich, had to say about all of this: “Our end point is to figure out how to treat our patients more effectively and by studying the underlying processes and mechanisms in these disorders, we can make better treatments.”

Dr. Wonderlich has been working with eating disorders in Fargo, North Dakota for over 35 years. He and his co-researcher Dr. Ross Crosby are known nationwide for their research on this topic. The two experts say they hope that this center will lead to infrastructure and comprehensive treatments for the $30 million living in the United States with eating disorders.

GrantWatch Understands How Important This Research Is

The funding and development of this kind of research is important. Providing hope and help to the millions of Americans struggling along with their families is important. This kind of research could change the reality for millions of people suffering the impacts of eating disorders in the United States and the world. This $12 million NIH grant awarded to Sanford could have a return on investment that’s priceless. This is why we’re so excited to hear about this award. We do have a listed grant category on GrantWatch for research & evaluation for our subscribers to be able to search through.

If you have any questions about this grant category or any others on GrantWatch, feel free to reach out! You can reach our incredible customer support team by calling 561-249-4129!