BY: Elisa Klein, MSW, MPH

DATE: February 24, 2016

Every so often, someone strong and brave comes forward to share his or her story.  We are honored and humbled that one of our clients chose to share his path to recovery with the public. Bill Nato, a lieutenant and patrol supervisor with UNC Department of Public Safety, described how his eating disorder helped him feel in control when his life felt unmanageable. In the article recently published in the UNC Gazette, he says, “The one thing I could control was my weight,” he said. “It’s addictive.”

Nato is in recovery, and while in treatment at UNC CEED, he learned about the ANGI study: The Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative. By studying the genetic information of people with and without eating disorders, we might someday have critical information that influences how we treat anorexia. According to Dr. Jessica Baker, Associate Research Director at the CEED, “Genetic information might even prevent eating disorders, flagging those at high risk and urging them to avoid negative energy balance through too much exercise or not enough food.”

It’s not too late to participate in ANGI. The ANGI study needs more participants, people with anorexia nervosa and healthy people, to complete a 30-minute questionnaire and a give a blood sample. Participants get a $25 Amazon gift card. To sign up, click here. For more information, call 919-966-3065 or email: angi@unc.edu.

To read more about Bill’s inspiring story of recovery, click here.