January 2012 Newsletter

Eating Disorders, Nutrition, and Wellness Research

URMC Pediatrics and its regional partners house the largest, most comprehensive eating disorders program in NY State north of Westchester County.  Its originator, Richard Kreipe, M.D., is an internationally-known expert in this area.  We designed and implement a region-wide research network to treat and prevent childhood obesity.  We manage the nutritional challenges and needs of children with short gut syndrome, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and more.  Why, then, are we seeking to endow our research programs in this area?  Stephen Cook, M.D., M.P.H., in our Division of General Pediatrics has found that as many as 20% of children in Monroe County between the ages of 2 and 10 are obese.  It is estimated that 8-million people in the U.S. have an eating disorder.  But still, we do not know what causes these conditions or how to prevent them.  Elizabeth R. McAnarney, M.D., in our Division of Adolescent Medicine, is examining changes in brain function and activation that are associated with anorexia nervosa.  Stephen Cook, M.D., M.P.H., is designing and piloting in pediatricians’ offices and community centers around the region behavioral approaches to obesity and its prevention. But the current mechanisms for funding cannot sustain these critical research initiatives, nor can they help us mentor and keep in Rochester the next generation of clinicians and scientists in the area of nutrition.  Only philanthropic funding can keep these programs vital and available to the people of Upstate New York and beyond.