Nutrition Hive Partners With the EAT Lab to Advance Research on Eating Anxiety and Food Restriction

At Nutrition Hive, we know that eating can be hard, especially when anxiety, restriction, or fear around food shows up unexpectedly. Many people tell us that the toughest moments are not always during appointments or structured support. They happen in the in-between moments. A meal or snack at home when your care team isn’t available.

That is why we are really glad to share that Nutrition Hive is partnering with the EAT Lab (Eating Anxiety Treatment Laboratory and Clinic) at the University of Louisville on a virtual research study focused on understanding thoughts, emotions, and behaviors around eating and food restriction, with the long-term goal of helping create an app that can offer meal support when live support is not available.

Why this study matters

If you have ever wished for support in the moment, during or right after a meal, you are not alone. For many people, eating anxiety and restrictive urges do not wait for a scheduled session. They show up quickly, sometimes loudly, and often when you are on your own.

This study is interested in what happens during real meals.
- What thoughts come up.
- What emotions show up.
- What urges or behaviors follow.

By learning more about these experiences, the EAT Lab hopes to help inform the creation of a future meal support app. This would be a tool designed to offer guidance, grounding, or reassurance when you do not have immediate access to a clinician, group, or care team.

At Nutrition Hive, this fits closely with how we think about care. Support should not only exist in offices or sessions. It should meet people where they are, including at the table, in their kitchens, and in everyday life.