US scientists have come up with a new way to determine whether someone is suffering from an eating disorder - examining their hair.
A study released by researchers from Utah's Brigham Young University found that examining carbon and nitrogen in the proteins of hair could reveal information about a person's day-to-day nutrition. Lead author Kent Hatch from the university's department of integrative biology said clinicians could use this as a tool to help diagnose such disorders as anorexia or bulimia because many sufferers lied or did not recognise their problems.
Hatch said current methods used to diagnose and monitor patients suffering from eating disorders relied heavily on questionnaires and interviews.
Dietary changes can be measured in head hair after a month of growth and the team is now looking at leg hair and beard growth as well, which could show signs of changes in diet after only six days.
Hair grows by adding new proteins to the base of the strand and pushing the strand up out of the hair follicle.
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