The Study that Changed My Life
It was completed before I was even born! TW: Calorie mention 3rd paragraph
As a millennial who has been personally victimized by diet culture, I leaned into research as I learned to reject diet culture. Research studies became my library for understanding and finding information during my Intuitive Eating Counselor certification, during graudate school, and as I started my practice as a therapist.
This study not only is foundational to most of our eating disorder research, but it’s foundational to understanding a shared human experience: restriction.
What is this amazing study? The Keys Study otherwise known as the Minnesota Starvation Experiement by Dr. Ancel Keys. As a very, proud, born and raised Minnesotan, I am thrilled to share this research was conducted here from 1944-1945. Dr. Keys study participants were collegiate men at the University of Minnesota and and the study was designed with 3 periods: Control Feeding, Starvation, and Re-feeding. The Control Feeding period was 3 months, where participants were fed approximately 3,200 calories a day. Following that, participants underwent 6 months of deliberate starvation, approximately 1,800 calories a day. The re feeding period was 3 months were participants were fed around 4,000 calories a day to properly rehabiltate.
Ok, no more calorie mentions.
During the starvation period, these young, healthy, college aged men, became obsessed with food. Men gathered cookbooks, added water to their food to make portions appear larger, and all particpants reported constant, intrustive, continous thoughts about food. Some men were discharged from the study from “cheating” because they stole food or ate food at a local shop.
Why is this study crucial to understanding our bodies, relationship with food, and to deepen our connection with ourself? Because this study shows the phsyical, social, and psycholigical impacts of restriction. Restriction by design, disorder, or force, will result in continuous thoughts or feeling out of control about food.
When we are underfed, for any reason, we can’t self actualize. We can’t function. We can’t maintain relationship with ourselves, let alone others. This is why I stand by the statement that restriction by any means, is violent. It’s a form of self-harm. Food insecurity is violent, traumatic, and psychologically life changing. Restriction by any means includes: medication including GLP-1’s, poverty, food deserts, eating disorders including disordered eating, natural disasters, climate change, war, and other humanitarian crimes. Food is a human right. We must feel that we have more than enough access to food to be intutive eaters and to feel secure. We have known this since 1945.
No matter what ad you see or what others say on your social media, please keep this study in mind. I’ll continue to reference this study and share other parts of this work in my blog and in my clinical work.
References:
Keys, A., Brožek, J., Henschel, A., Mickelsen, O., & Taylor, H. L. (1950). The biology of human starvation.(2 vols).