2020 International Conference for Eating Disorders Goes Virtual, Highlighting Important Perspectives in the Field

Reston, VA, October 20, 2020 – Over 1600 people from 63 different countries attended the 2020 International Conference on Eating Disorders (ANZAED and AED), where actress and activist Jameela Jamil was awarded the Global Impact Award for her work promoting body acceptance and inclusivity. For the first time ever, ICED was held jointly with AED’s sister organization, the Australian and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZEAD) and presented virtually providing attendees with over 20 days of live educational content, including 24 educational session, two AED chapter events, 23 paper sessions and two poster sessions. Channeling this year’s theme, “Taking a Different Perspective”, many of the conference presentations underscored the importance of unifying around the common goal of treating eating disorders more effectively. This included a keynote speech by Dr. Janet Treasure, Director of the Eating Disorder Unit and Professor of Psychiatry at King’s College, London, which called for narrowing longstanding divides in the field of eating disorders. One of the four plenaries presented by Scott Griffith, PhD, Emilio Compte, PhD, Tony Rones, EdM, MS and  Jason Lavender, PhD, FAED,  focused on the importance of shifting perspectives to understand eating disorders in males, and resulted in the publication of AED’s latest Nine More Truths About Eating Disorders: Boys and Men.

The conference also offered 39.5 CME and 40 CE credits, which are available for purchase through 2021 by simply registering here.

During ICED, the Academy for Eating Disorders also announced a newly completed report presenting the social and economic cost of eating disorders in the United States, in collaboration with Deloitte and the Harvard Strategic Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED). Overseen by a steering committee of experts in psychology, medicine, economics, and lived experiences with eating disorders, the report emphasized the $65 billion annual cost of eating disorders (Fiscal Year 2018-2019). Dr. S. Bryn Austin, Director of STRIPED and Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children’s Hospital, summarized the report by stating, “Eating disorders are common. Eating disorders are deadly, and eating disorders are costly.” This message was echoed throughout the larger conference.

Building on the success of ICED 2020, ICED 2021 will again be a virtual conference.  Applications for fellowships, grants, and scholarships and presentation abstracts are now being accepted for consideration for ICED 2021. In 2021, the conference theme will be “Cultivating Inclusivity and Diversity Across Research and Practice.” 

ABOUT

The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) is an international professional association committed to the leadership in eating disorders research, education, treatment, and prevention. The goal of the AED is to provide global access to knowledge, research, and best treatment practice for eating disorders. For additional information, please contact Elissa Myers at (703) 626-9087 and visit the AED website at www.aedweb.org.

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