I just left a presentation here at the International Conference on Eating Disorders on risk factors that affect prognosis for adolescents treated for anorexia. When the presenter finished her thorough treatment of the topic, a researcher from the UK, Dr. Bryan Lask, stood up to make a comment.

He noted that he and his colleagues had done a number of similar studies, and that they found recovery rates for anorexia that were consistently very similar to the presenter's numbers -- about 50%. He went on to say that, oddly, risk factors generally are inconsistent across the studies that they had done. In other words, it was very difficult to find anything that consistently correlated to the development of anorexia.

There was one exception, he said -- parental dysharmony.

It might make sense to consider, then, that one of the most powerful ways to guard against anorexia nervosa in a child is to strengthen the relationship between the child's parents. There's more than one benefit to deepening healthy intimacy between father and mother.

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• Family dynamics of those with eating disorders

A rare on-site blog entry: I'm writing from the Westin Hotel in Seattle, which is hosting the International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED) this year. The conference began Wednesday, May 14, and runs through Saturday.

I'm compelled to write a note to tell you how encouraging it is to experience the energy from this large group of brilliant professionals. More specifically, I'm encouraged on behalf of everyone who struggles with an eating disorder. It's amazing to see a giant conference room full of people, nearly a thousand strong, who are concerned about the causes and treatment of eating disorders.

I wish that you could see it firsthand, so that you could have such tangible evidence that there is care and hope. If you have an eating disorder, or care for someone who does, this care is for you. Your situation matters to many, many people. And the conference attendees here are only a tiny fraction of the force that is working on your behalf.

If you haven't met anyone who seems to care, don't give up hope that you will. Seek help actively. Eating disorders create isolation, which reinforces the disordered eating. From what I can see here, isolation is one factor that no one needs to experience.

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