Diabulimia—a Young Diabetics' Eating Disorder

We're smack in the middle of the National Eating Disorders Association's Awareness Week, and I'm wondering why I'm not familiar with the term diabulimia, a behavior highlighted in a study published today in the journal Diabetes Care. Though the Associated Press reported the trend last year, I suspect I'm not the only one who would've been hard pressed to explain that it's practiced by people—almost exclusively young women—with type 1 diabetes who can achieve significant, rapid weight loss by intentionally skipping doses of insulin. That hormone helps their bodies take up fuel from the bloodstream and tame erratic blood sugar. The price of thinness is especially high for this group: The Diabetes Care study found that women with type 1 diabetes who intentionally forgo their insulin medication have a threefold increased risk of premature death and higher rates of complications—including kidney dysfunction and foot problems—than those who don't.