Eating Disorder Awareness Week

The charity, Beat, is raising money and awareness for Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

Any awareness of mental disorders is important in order to remove the stigma that surrounds it, and to identify anyone you think might need help. According to the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, 1.6 million people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder.

Help beat eating disorder by donating to Beat

Many eating disorders develop during adolescence. Ashlee Hoffman, a doctoral student in health promotion and education at the University of Cincinnati, said,

Some students mistakenly believe disordered eating is a vanity issue, when in fact, it is a compulsive, addictive behaviour that sufferers can use as a coping mechanism for stress.

The stress and pressure to perform well at university could potentially bring about an eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia. What is also worrying is Hoffman’s claim that students find it difficult to spot these disorders. The study found students often fail to pick up on indications that their friends may suffer from such problems.

However it was found that women are more likely to notice warning signs associated with the problem than men. Recent research from the NHS information centre showed that a quarter of those showing signs of an eating disorder were male. Beat explains the lack of awareness among males,

“Males with eating disorders may be less likely to be diagnosed due to a lack of awareness, or may be less likely to come forward due to a perceived stigma attached to eating disorders in general and specifically to men with eating disorders.”

So that you pick up on signs that your friend, or even yourself, may have a problem it is important you know about disordered eating. Professor Andrew Hill, a Chartered Psychologist from the University of Leeds, explains how characteristics of eating disorders are common for young women, which makes it harder to spot a problem,

“Being overly concerned with body weight, shape and eating, dieting, refusing to eat certain foods, alternating fasting with episodes of overeating and regularly exercising do not seem out of place. Binge eating and purging behaviours (such as vomiting) are more secretive and done out of view of friends. These feelings and actions are expressed by some men, which also makes them unremarkable. They are responses to the emphasis on appearance and body shape that is potent for young people as reflected in the media directed at them.”

So, it is important you can recognise symptoms of eating disorders which can have devastating effects on lives. Identifying a problem can lead to recovery, around 46% of anorexia nervosa patients fully recover, with a third improving. Beat explains how you can spot an eating disorder using the SCOFF screening tool. A score of two or more positive answers is a positive screen for an eating disorder.

SCOFF questionnaire:

Do you ever make yourself Sick because you feel uncomfortably full?

Do you worry you have lost Control over how much you eat?

Have you recently lost more than One stone in a three month period?

Do you believe yourself to be Fat when others say you are too thin?

Would you say that Food dominates your life?

To help the Beat cause, visit their website to donate, or text EDAW13 £5 to 70070.