MEAL: The Maritime Eating & Appearance Lab

Welcome to the

Maritime Eating & Appearance Lab

A collaboration between the University of New Brunswick & Dalhousie University in Atlantic Canada.

Research building a world without disordered eating and body image concerns.

The Maritime Eating & Appearance Lab (MEAL) is a bi-campus partnership between researchers at Dalhousie University and the University of New Brunswick. Established in 2022 by co-directors Dr. Aaron Keshen and Dr. Emilie Lacroix, members of this research group span multiple disciplines including psychology, psychiatry, and nursing. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, researchers at the MEAL are investigating questions related to the development, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders and body image disturbances.

Our People

The MEAL team includes students, researchers, and trainees from the University of New Brunswick and Dalhousie University.

Our Research

We are committed to producing research that improves real-world experiences and treatment.

Join Us

Are you an undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate in psychology, psychiatry, or an adjacent field? We’d love to hear from you.

Reducing barriers to evidence-based treatment through clinical research, education, training, and advocacy.

Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses with serious consequences for mental and physical health. Unfortunately, many people with eating disorders never access evidence-based care. Translating research into real-world clinical practice can improve care delivery and health outcomes, reducing the burden of eating disorders. Through system-wide efforts to train and support front-line clinicians, we use science to craft a future where folks can feel at ease in their bodies.

Meet Our Team

Join the Lab

Eager to change the way we understand disordered eating & body image?

We work with passionate undergraduate and graduate students at the University of New Brunswick and Dalhousie University every academic year. We’d love to hear from you.

Learn More About Joining Our Lab

Research Quotes

“Many in the field recognize that the etiology of eating disorders is complex, and that biological and psychosocial factors play roles in their development and maintenance. Despite this, the fact remains that some individuals with eating disorders (and possibly some clinicians) hold reductionist biological views of eating disorder etiology.”

-Ali et al., 2020

“Researchers and clinicians should not assume that anyone is or is not struggling with addictive-like eating because of their gender or body size. Rigorous assessment of addictive-like eating and body image disturbance, as well as the application of predetermined cut-offs and decision-making criteria, would help guard against potential blind spots.”

-Lacroix & von Ranson, 2021

Peer-reviewed research that matters.

At MEAL, we focus on questions that matter to people impacted by eating disorders, and our talented team is always working on research with real-world implications.

Our knowledge translation efforts, outreach, education, and advocacy work help ensure that these insights make a meaningful difference for treatment and prevention.

Explore Our Research

Want to know what’s been going on at MEAL? Read our lab log!

Lab Log

The questions eating disorder experts have about weight loss medication

“We noticed clinically that we were getting more and more people into our clinical services that had been started on GLP-1 agonists and had experienced new onset or worsening eating disorder symptoms” – MEAL Co-Director, Dr. Aaron Keshen, was interviewed by CNN about the impact of weight loss medications on eating disorders.

Nutritional considerations for gender-diverse people: A qualitative mini review

This article summarizes qualitative literature on nutritional considerations for gender-diverse people. We discuss the need for increased trans literacy among clinicians, the creation of safe spaces for gender-diverse people with eating disorders, and the importance of dual competencies in eating disorders treatment and gender-affirming care. Read it in Frontiers in Nutrition!

Health service use among clients with eating disorders in New Brunswick

By examining administrative health data, we hope to gauge how often eating disorders appear in NB health records, the populations who access care for eating disorders, and the costs of seeking care. Hopefully, this information will inform efforts to build treatment capacity in NB!

Use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in eating disorder populations

Despite glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1As; e.g., semaglutide) increasingly being the topic of clinical and public discourse, little is known about their potential impact on ED symptoms. Read more about it in our article in IJED!

Media: CBC Maritime Noon with Bob Murphy

Listen to the Jan. 2, 2024 edition of CBC Maritime Noon with Bob Murphy for a discussion about diet culture, body image, and New Year’s resolutions with Mollie Cronin of Art Brat Comics and our own Dr. Emilie Lacroix!