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The Fast Track to Health study is a one-year food trial of obese adolescents. Since his debut in Sydney and Melbourne in late 2018, he has been criticized for his increased risk of eating disorders in people who may be particularly vulnerable to these conditions.
Clinical psychologist Louise Adams, based in Sydney, has launched an online petition to stop the trial. She also complained to the Ethics Committee who approved the research.
Several Australian food disorder organizations then raised concerns about the safety of teenagers participating in the trial.
Fast Track investigators responded by stating that the top priority was the participants' health and mental well-being, and committing themselves to liaising with these groups to solve their problems.
The Fast Track to Health trial attempts to help Australian teenagers suffering from obesity lose weight, in part by following a strict "intermittent fasting" diet for one year. Any weight loss could improve physical and mental health.
But the test could also cause damage if dietary restriction results in disorderly eating behaviors or a eating disorder.
As a result, participants, researchers, and others who have expressed concerns about the trial should evaluate the potential benefits and risks.
What exactly is the Fast Track test?
About 180 children aged 13 to 17 who have a body mbad index (BMI) who identifies them as moderate to severe obese follow one of two restrictive diets for one year.
The first diet is a type of intermittent fasting diet called fasting modified every other day. This is where a very low energy diet is followed three days a week. The remaining four days, a healthy and standard diet is consumed.
Each day of fasting, about 2,500 to 3,000 kilojoules (600 to 700 calories) are consumed. This is about a quarter of a child's normal daily energy requirements, although this is intended to ensure that their nutritional needs are met. Calories are consumed or consumed in the form of three to four meal replacements (shakes, soups or Optifast bars), and then a small, low-carb meal.
The second diet is a low calorie diet, low in energy and high in fiber. However, all children follow the fasting diet every other day the first month.
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The investigators of the trial include pediatricians, dietitians and an eating disorder researcher. Each child has between 10 and 13 appointments with testing staff during the year, with regular additional badistance via SMS, email, phone and, possibly, Facebook.
Various aspects of physical and psychological health are monitored, including BMI, blood pressure, diet, physical activity, quality of life, self-esteem, and eating behaviors.
Potential Benefits of Fast Track Research
Nearly a quarter of children and adolescents are overweight or obese, conditions that increase the likelihood of developing various chronic diseases and dying prematurely.
The prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher among children in lower socio-economic areas, particularly around the Westmead Children's Hospital, where Sydney's fast-track research is taking place.
Read more:
More than one in four Australian children are overweight or obese: we fail them and we need a plan
If a child lost weight during the test, it would reduce the risk of overweight or obesity in adulthood, as well as the current and future risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
With a lower body weight, he may also experience less stigma and depression and a better quality of life related to health.
Overweight and obesity, as well as disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders, share factors likely to increase the risk of occurrence of one of them. . Dieting and dissatisfaction with body image, for example, may be shared risk factors.
Dmytro Zinkevych
It follows that an overweight or obese teenager may have disordered eating behaviors or a eating disorder. An American study found that 40% of overweight teenagers and 20% of overweight boys gorged themselves excessively.
Another study found that 6.3% of adolescents seeking treatment for overweight or obesity had binge eating, 23.8% recently and 15% had already lost control of their diet.
The Fast Track website states that teens with significant medical or psychiatric illness or ongoing treatment for a clinical eating disorder are not eligible to participate in the trial.
But it is unclear whether unhealthy eating leads to overweight and obesity, or whether being overweight and obesity lead to unhealthy eating – or both.
Potential Risks of Fast Track Research
All adolescents participating in the study will experiment with the intermittent fasting diet; some for a month, others for a year.
Fasting intermittent weight loss data were collected only in adults; professionals have advised against its use in adolescents.
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In adults, intermittent fasting usually proves as effective for weight loss as other forms of dietary intervention, such as the continuous caloric restriction that occurs during the 11 months of the week. Fast Track diet with reduced calories.
The researchers of the Fast Track trial agreed with Louise Adams that:
a young person at risk of developing a eating disorder by being exposed to restrictive diets, and in particular to very restrictive diets.
But they note:
these risks may be justified by the likely benefits of the trial, provided the test is adequately monitored with an appropriate risk management plan to minimize and communicate the risks badociated with eating disorders.
Dieting would be primarily a risk factor for eating disorders, but not always. The national collaboration on eating disorders states:
People who diet do not necessarily develop eating disorders, but it would be difficult to find a person with eating disorders who has not dieted himself or herself. Diet is one of the most common forms of eating disorders.
In a study of American teens, those who dieted were more likely to be overweight, gorging themselves on food and purging themselves (as by spontaneous vomiting) after five years, compared to those who had no diet.
Dieting can lead to food concerns, irritability and fatigue. However, most of the evidence on plans is self-directed; which is different from what is done under medical supervision, as in the Fast Track test.
However, the consequences of a restrictive diet after the end of the main intervention period of a one-year trial may require further attention.
There are alternatives to the Fast Track Trial to help an adolescent with obesity lose weight without increasing the risk of eating disorders or a disorder of the body. 39; diet. Approaches include health at every size, increasing compbadion towards oneself and promoting a healthy body image.
It is important to focus on the psychological health of a teenager with obesity, including body image, unhealthy eating habits and mood. If you are a teenager suffering from obesity or if you are the parent, a good first step towards optimal health may be to find a clinician who takes an approach to nutrition at any age and its weight.
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