Binge eating. Anorexia nervosa. Bulimia. All eating disorders (EDs) are very serious mental illnesses, with major repercussions for an individual's emotional, physical, and social well-being. Early diagnosis and treatment increase the odds of recovery.

     Because early intervention is so important, recognizing the signs of disordered eating is vital for both the public and health professionals. An online screening tool is available if you are concerned that you or a loved one may have ED.

     Eating Disorders Awareness Week, sponsored annually by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), falls on February 22 to 28 this year. Local events include two free public talks and an essay contest:

• On Thursday evening, February 26 in Palo Alto, a program focused on recovery will be presented by Stanford Children's Health.

• On Saturday, February 28 in Los Gatos, the Eating Disorders Resource Center (EDRC) will host a workshop for parents of children with EDs.

• EDRC will award cash prizes to middle and high school students for essays written on the theme "Every Body's Beautiful." The deadline for submission is March 27.

Easy-Peasy Meals
     If you want to eat healthfully and inexpensively, home-cooking is your best bet. But who has time and energy for all the menu planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning up? 
     You do! 
     This plan for a week of delicious meals uses ordinary ingredients and basic kitchen equipment to make fast, simple recipes. Collectively, each day's breakfast, lunch and dinner will cost less than $10 per person and take little more than an hour to prepare. Written for the single person, the recipes work as well for a couple - just double the amounts. A ready-to-print shopping list for your one trip to the grocery includes options for vegetarians.
     If you follow the plan, please let us know how you liked your week of home-cooked meals.

Toddler and Preschooler Safety
     Do you keep drugs, vitamins, or nutritional supplements on a countertop or table, perhaps in a pill dispenser? In your purse, briefcase, or a handy drawer? Every day, four schoolbus-loads of kids - over 60,000 per year - go to the emergency room for medication poisoning. Most had easy access to medicine in one of those locations. For 38% of them, the medicine belonged to a grandparent. Keep little hands and mouths from the drugs you take by employing these tips for parents and for grandparents.
     An enterprising toddler climbing furniture, a little kid after a toy or remote on top of the TV - these can be lethal scenarios. If you have a large television or piece of furniture that a child could possibly climb on and topple, anchor it so it cannot fall. This video shows ways to reduce the hazards. Your local hardware store can help with ideas and materials.
     And with the recent spate of gun accidents involving toddlers and loaded guns, we urge you redouble your safety precautions if you own a gun. Please make absolutely certain the safety is on and the weapon is never within a child's reach. These suggestions will help you keep your child safe from firearm accidents.

Risk Reduction, NNT, and NNH
       We do not often refer readers to information about the statistical underpinnings of medical practice. However, this 7-minute video engagingly presents several critical concepts. Understanding them will help you appreciate complexities related to screening and treatment recommendations. (The information is presented rather quickly. Use the pause button to give yourself time to process one idea before the speaker moves on to another.)
     Read these recent New York Times articles with illustrative examples and graphics if you would like to learn more about "number needed to treat" (NNT) and "number needed to harm" (NNH).

 

"Lose Weight Fast!"
     Are you tempted by supplement ads promising to melt away unwanted pounds quickly, safely, and effortlessly? Here's the skinny.

 

Daily Aspirin
     Lots of folks take a "baby" aspirin every day to prevent heart attacks and strokes. For people who are at high risk, doing so appears to have clear benefits. However, if your cardiovascular risk is low - less than 6 or 10 percent over the next ten years - the potential harm of taking aspirin daily may outweigh the benefits.

     If you know your cholesterol numbers and typical blood pressure, you can calculate your risk. Then talk to your doctor if you think adding or subtracting aspirin to your daily regime might be appropriate.