It's Eating Disorder Awareness Week
Today marks the start of eating disorder awareness week, the campaign focus is to call all UK medical schools to action to introduce proper training on eating disorders. What you may not know is that the average GP receives less than 2 hours of training on eating disorders, with 1 in 5 UK medical schools not providing any training at all. This is a shocking statistic with approximately 1.25 million people in the UK having an eating disorder, this means we are still failing to provide enough education around ED and how to support those who are experiencing it.
What is an eating disorder?
An eating disorder is a complex medical illness that negatively affects a person's relationship with food. Anyone, no matter their age, gender or background can develop one. Diagnosis often involves medical tests on your weight, blood and body mass index as well as an investigation into habits, behaviours and mental wellbeing. An eating disorder is not all about food, they are about the feelings and the way they identify can vary hugely from person to person. It cannot be defined solely on your appearance. A person with an ED can appear healthy and well, making them difficult to recognise.
Disordered eating is a relationship with food that you find difficult, not every disordered eating habit will lead to an eating disorder diagnosis.
Having grown up in the dance and fitness industry I have my own personal experience of an eating disorder, although for many years it would go undiagnosed I am in recovery from both Anorexia and Body Dysmorphia, two conditions which presented for me as starving myself of food as a means of control and believing that my body size was larger than it was and because of my culturally imposed fatphobia - believing that having body fat made me a failure. I was very good at hiding my disorder, in fact, I chose an athletic path because it was one of the only places I knew I wouldn’t be questioned for obsessively exercising and restrictive eating. One of the super dangerous things about those industries is that as personal trainers and dance educators we are given zero information on eating disorders and how they may present for our clients, combined with the fact that most of the industry encourages disordered eating habits in order to meet a societally prescribed ideal - means that it was a perfect place for me to hide.
Whilst I knew deep down that something was wrong, my behaviours were often glorified and my body at its smallest was praised, which made it very difficult to face up to the fact that I needed help. I never approached a GP about my disorder specifically, but I did go to them when I began to experience amenorrhea - a condition where your body stops menstruating, often due to low body fat and high-stress levels. When I asked the GP his exact words to me were “ but you are an athlete, that’s a good thing, it means your body fat is low '' Of course this only fed my obsessive beliefs and behaviours and I remember wearing that tag like a badge of honour. What the GP failed to mention and potentially had no idea about was the effect Amenorrhea would have on me long term, they also didn’t ask any questions about the rest of my lifestyle and behaviours.
I remember when I first began my recovery journey I felt really angry with that GP and extremely let down by the NHS. I blamed them and I felt they were just incredibly jaded by their job. I longed to go back to that time in my life and to be given a different GP, but what I know now is that it would have been unlikely to make a difference. This is one of the reasons that I feel so passionate about calling UK medical schools to action.
That was 16 years ago - today statistics show that 53% of ED patients would have sought help sooner if they had more faith in their GP and 58% stated that they didn’t think their GP understood eating disorders. That’s why it’s so important that better education and training is provided, especially with 72% of ED patients having to wait over 6 months for access and support from their GP and 30% stating that they were not referred to mental health services after their appointment.
This shows us that Eating Disorders are still hugely misunderstood and as a result are not being taken as seriously as they should. Without treatment, up to 20% of people with eating disorders will die. The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa alone is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL other causes of death in females aged 15-24 years old. With treatment, the rate falls to 2-3%. Better education for GPs - will save lives.
What can WE ALL do to help?
Eating Disorders are serious and we rely on GPs to spot the early warning signs to ensure that those suffering get quality care and support. The training exists, it just needs to be put into practice.
Beat are the company behind the eating disorder awareness campaign, we have copied their call to action points and ways you can get involved to help raise awareness of this year's campaign.
Speak Up. Sharing any positive or negative experiences with your GP will help us showcase the difference knowledge, understanding and compassion can make for someone who is struggling.
Step up fundraising and generous donations will help to amplify the call for proper training on eating disorders to be adopted by all UK Medical Schools and Foundation programmes.
Skill up. With the tools and the time to understand eating disorders, our future GPs will be better equipped to make crucial, life-changing interventions.
If you want to know more, check out the medical training Beat have developed and find out how this year's campaign came about.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this week's blog, please share it with those who may find it useful and help us support this incredibly important campaign.
If you or someone you know may be suffering from an eating disorder you may find the following resources useful: