Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Monday 24 February to Sunday 2 March), is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the realities of eating disorders and to provide hope and visibility to individuals and loved ones impacted by eating disorders.
Eating disorders have the second-highest mortality rate among mental health conditions, with one person dying from an eating disorder every 52 minutes.
You probably know someone living with an eating disorder – but you may not realise it.
According to eating disorder charity Beat, at least 1.25 million people in the UK are currently living with an eating disorder. That’s more than 1 in 50 people – but the real number could be even higher. Eating disorders like ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and OSFED (Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder) are complex mental health conditions which are often misunderstood, mislabelled or undiagnosed which can prevent people from reaching out for help.
Eating disorders are one of the biggest mental health challenges of our time and they can affect anyone at any time. Many people wouldn’t know how to spot the signs that someone has an eating disorder and the sooner someone is treated for an eating disorder, the better their chance of making a full recovery.
Beat, the UK’s leading eating disorders charity, shares the below tips on spotting the signs of an eating disorder.
Beat asks six questions which can help you spot the signs, these are:
- Are they obsessive about food?
- Is their behaviour changing?
- Do they have distorted beliefs about their body size?
- Are they often tired or struggling to concentrate?
- Do they disappear to the toilet after meals?
- Have they started exercising excessively?
Whilst these questions may not help you spot all types of eating disorder, they can help you notice some of the warning signs.
If you’re worried someone you care about is showing the signs of an eating disorder, the first step is to talk to them and encourage them to seek help from their GP. You can also contact Beat for more advice.
Our specialist Eating Disorders Service assesses and treats people with moderate to severe eating disorders. It primarily helps people who are suffering with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and variations of these eating disorders.
The team offer intensive day treatment services and specialist assessment, evidence-based psychological therapies and therapy groups.
They also provide Eating Disorders Intensive Community Treatment and FREED (First episode Rapid Early intervention in Eating Disorders).
FREED is for young people aged under 26 who have had an eating disorder for less than three years. They are contacted within 48 hours of referral, assessed within two weeks and start treatment within four weeks.
For more information on our Eating Disorder services please visit: Eating Disorders Service: South Essex | Essex Partnership University NHS Trust (eput.nhs.uk) and Eating Disorders Service: North East, Mid and West Essex | Essex Partnership University NHS Trust (eput.nhs.uk)