Eating Disorders and Type 1 Diabetes

Quinn Nystrom was a competitive figure skater growing up in a small town in Minnesota. At age 10, she became hyper-focused on her body and believed that her weight directly impacted her ability to succeed in a highly demanding sport. She weighed herself daily, practiced restrictive portion control, and was hypervigilant about counting calories. Aware of these alarming changes in her eating behaviors, Nystrom’s parents arranged a visit to the family’s pediatrician. The doctor said, “Yes, she’s underweight. Make sure she eats dinner with you guys.” Potentially debilitating body image issues were not addressed with Nystrom, her parents or her skating coach.

While continuing to skate competitively, Nystrom was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at age 13. Her younger brother had been diagnosed two-and-a-half years earlier, which made her diagnosis all the more devastating to her family, who were aware of the day-to-day challenges of managing T1D. Her weight had decreased significantly due to a delayed diagnosis, which was