Anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder and serious mental health condition, has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. 

Although anorexia overwhelmingly affects adult women, in recent years there has been a rise in children and adolescents being diagnosed with this and other eating disorders. 

When veteran tech entrepreneur Onn Manelson’s 13-year-old daughter developed an eating disorder two years ago, he decided to create a solution for anyone in this situation. 

Last year, Manelson officially founded Thrive Together, a digital app that combines AI with evidence-based practices to help parents navigate their child’s treatment. 

The platform provides a personalized assessment of the condition, management tools, parent communities, and insights to prevent deterioration and improve family wellbeing. 

Role of parents in eating disorders

“Parents are key when it comes to supporting a child with an eating disorder. But the health system doesn’t provide sufficient support for the caregivers due to a lack of resources; that’s where Thrive comes in,” Manelson tells ISRAEL21c. 

“All research has proven that the more parents are available to support their children, the more it increases the success of the treatment. And eating disorders are a chronic illness, so we’re talking about treatment cycles of several years,” he says.

Manelson explains that his daughter’s illness was difficult to spot since it’s characterized by behavioral rather than physical symptoms in the first stages.

“You don’t see it on your child until it gets to a point where they become very, very thin,” he notes. 

“The majority of the time, the child is with a parent at home, unless their condition is really, really bad, so we’re not replacing treatment, but acting as a guide for the parent,” he adds.

How it works

Manelson says that what sets Thrive apart from competitors is that it focuses on the parent, rather than the patient. 

Once a day, the Thrive app reminds the parent to complete a daily report on the progress of a child battling an eating disorder. 

“The app asks questions such as: Did the child eat? What was their mood? What clinical symptoms related to the eating disorder did they see? Did they meet with the therapist during that day? Did they take their medication?” explains Manelson.

Based on daily data provided by the parent, the app’s algorithm then creates weekly reports, which the parent can share with the treatment team to better understand behavioral patterns of children with eating disorders. 

Data provided by children themselves is not always reliable since they can’t always self-monitor and self-report accurately, says Manelson. Additionally, children sometimes lie to satisfy adult expectations.

‘Kind of like a pandemic’

Manelson says that research shows children are being diagnosed with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia at earlier ages – even as young as 10 — while the number of diagnoses continues to increase.

“Eating disorders are becoming kind of like a pandemic. In Israel alone, right now there are nearly 100,000 children diagnosed with eating disorders. Not all of them are anorexic, but those are still huge numbers that are rapidly growing.”

Manelson adds that recent studies point to a strong correlation between eating disorders and the use of mobile phones and social media.

“For example, the percentages of eating disorders in Japan, Singapore and South Korea are among the highest in the world, and so is their usage of mobile phones and social media.

“The next on the list are Western countries: the United States, Britain, Australia and others.”

Data from clinics

Thrive, which is self-funded, currently employs six workers and will soon launch its first funding round to speed the app’s journey to the market, which Manelson hopes will happen later this year. 

The staff trains the AI algorithm by sourcing data from eating disorder clinics. Recently they began cooperation talks with Leumit Health Services, one of Israel’s four national health maintenance organization, and with Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center. 

Last month, Thrive was among nine Israeli health startups selected by the Dangoor Health-Tech Academy to help its partners in the UK tackle challenges related to healthcare. The Academy was initiated by the UK-Israel Tech Hub at the British Embassy in Israel in partnership with The Dangoor Foundation.

Manelson says the company’s goal is “to change the landscape and approach” of how eating disorders are treated in Israel and other countries.

“Today, only between a third to a half of eating disorders are getting diagnosed and treated,” he notes. “Although in Israel we’re seeing more awareness of mental health after October 7,” he says, referring to the 2023 Hamas attacks. 

“I think it’s a good sign.”

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