The Minnesota Semi-Starvation Experiment, the landmark research study conducted during World War ll, unexpectedly taught the field of eating disorders a heck of a lot about the psychological and physical impact of starvation, and the process of renourishment. And, we are continuing to learn from this study 100 years later.
Experiment Overview
During the study, men without eating disorders or any other medical or psychiatric problems ate a low-calorie diet. This went on for 24 weeks, resulting in significant weight loss. The purpose was to understand how to help people recover from starvation, so that the United States would be in a position to be as helpful as possible to refeed starving people across war-torn Europe.
In brief, here are a few key takeaways from the original study:
- Participants who were initially psychologically healthy experienced depression, irritability, unusual eating behaviors (for example, slow eating, binge eating, making unusual combinations of food, etc.), and preoccupation with food (for example, cutting out recipes and pictures of foods from magazines).
- As weight declined, the men experienced physical symptoms like edema (swelling), cold sensitivity, and bradycardia (low heart rate).
- Many more calories were required for weight restoration than initially planned for in the study protocol. This demonstrated that once the body has been starved, weight gain is hard work.
Taken together, these findings show us that a lot of what these men experienced during weight loss and refeeding echoes anorexia nervosa and recovery.
Because this study was so important to the field of eating disorders, we were excited to discover that 57 years later, researchers tracked down the original participants. The aim was to learn about their experiences in the study and their lives since. A little over half of the men provided updates about the longer-term effects of study participation. They shared which effects of starvation and changes in eating behavior and weight lingered long after the experiment concluded.
What happened to study participants in the long term?
- The effects of starvation persisted longer than the researchers from the original study expected. For example, most men took over a year to return to their pre-experiment weight, with one even taking closer to five years. Two participants reported that it took them up to two years to get back to their original strength and stamina.
- Some men described the onset of new health- and eating-related behaviors in the wake of study participation. Four men started smoking cigarettes (possibly reflective of the times, but we cannot know for certain). Four men described excessive gum chewing of up to 60 packs daily.
- Despite all men experiencing good mental health before the starvation period began, eight out of the 19 men developed symptoms of depression during semi-starvation or rehabilitation. Those who were assigned to receive the fewest calories during rehabilitation had higher depression scores than others. Conversely, those who received the most calories as part of the refeeding protocol experienced the fastest recovery from depression.
- Six men also experienced new onset binge eating during or soon after the experiment. There is no way to know whether the men would have experienced these symptoms if they didn’t participate in the experiment. However, it is notable that the symptoms developed during or after the starvation, not before.
Many of these men experienced a range of challenges during and after the study. But they all went on to lead fulfilling lives. All nineteen graduated college, becoming professors, teachers, lawyers, ministers, social workers, etc. Six men attributed their jobs and/or hobbies to their experience in the study. One even went on to educate others about world hunger and starvation!
What can we learn?
Most physical and psychological impacts of starvation can be reversed with renourishment. Yet, the recovery process may, for some, be prolonged. Because these men did not have eating disorders but still experienced lingering effects of starvation, it’s clearer that the impact of being underfed cannot be fully explained by an eating disorder diagnosis, or an individual’s personality or context. Simply put, it takes time for the body and the mind to heal.
For people with restrictive eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, this is an important reminder. Inpatient eating disorder treatment programs like ours prioritize nutritional rehabilitation throughout the recovery process. This is because without renourishment, it is nearly impossible for individuals to benefit from other elements of treatment, such as talk therapy (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, family-based treatment, mirror exposure, etc.). Yet, highly structured and intensive treatment is likely to be only one chapter of successful eating disorder treatment, not the whole story.
You can read more about the study described above here:
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