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

[MacRumors]

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.

Article Link: Apple to Donate 1,000 Apple Watches to Eating Disorder Study

 

[max.ine]

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.

 

[pete2106]

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.

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

 

[44267547]

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 this disorder.

 

[radiology]

“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...

 

[max.ine]

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

I have epilepsy with seizures at rare but seemingly random times, so the health features make it a tempting enough feature for me. Anything else is a bonus.

It’ll probably be a year or two before I actually pull the trigger, though.

 

[BruceEBonus]

I’ll drink (heavily) to that!

 

[allenvanhellen]

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

 

[garylapointe]

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.

 

[newyorksole]

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.

 

[iapplelove]

This thread is making me hungry

 

[mgauss7]

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.
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.

Article Link: Apple to Donate 1,000 Apple Watches to Eating Disorder 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.

 

[haruhiko]

Donating... Means that the participants or the organizer can keep the watch after the research?

 

[mazz0]

Anyone else read that headline and think "What?! They want to see if people will eat Watches?!"?

 

[Ntombi]

“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.

 

[MrJeffreyGee]

I wonder if Apple is doing analysis on sound... The sound of someone barfing is very unique. In the future, your watch can ask if you're okay and need help.

 

[KGB7]

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

 

[YaBe]

And they say that with Google you are the product.....

 

[mw360]

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

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.

 

[Escher2112]

"...to better understand overeating disorders in which people eat large amounts of food uncontrollably in a small period of time."

Clearly Apple has never been to a Chinese Buffet... 'cuz its game on. Bring the big boy pants.

 

[BornAgainMac]

What about an iPhone XS Max? Record a video of them eating, take photos of the food they consume, set a timer when they start eating and when they, take notes about what they eat and how they feel, use a calorie app to record the foods they eat and calculate calories and nutrition, communicate with the researchers, etc.

 

[Mansu944]

[doublepost=1539609407][/doublepost]

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

I feel like you don’t have a watch. Is your phone in your hand 24/7?
[doublepost=1539609693][/doublepost]

“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...

I could never work out on a full stomach. I’d end up hurling...maybe that’s why they do it?

 

[digitalexplr]

Educate yourself on how big the eating disorder issue is before posting nonsense.

Here's a beginning for you: https://www.anad.org/education-and-awareness/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/

 

[citysnaps]

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

You forgot convenience.

 

[Valtari]

It’s probably just leftover Series 1 watches to spend as little as they can, while still seeming generous and virtous on the outside ;P