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(Warning: frequent mention of eating disorder description and symptoms)
The slogan of this year’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (or NEDA for short) is Every Body Has a Seat at the Table.
Around seventy million people worldwide are currently suffering from an eating disorder of some kind. As summarised on the NHS website, "an eating disorder is a mental health condition where you use the control of food to cope with feelings and other situations."
Eating disorders are brain-based mental illnesses where food, exercise, body shape, weight, or abnormal eating habits dictate a person’s life; they are intrusive, controlling, obsessive and debilitating. Eating disorders affect people of every age, race, size, gender identity, sexual orientation, and background, but teenagers between the ages of thirteen and seventeen are the most affected. Often, eating disorders are a response to trauma, anxiety, depression, or grief, and occur as a side effect of another serious mental illness.
This year, National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (the 22nd of February to the 28th of February) hopes to "shine the spotlight on eating disorders by educating the public, spreading a message of hope, and putting lifesaving resources into the hands of those in need’ according to the National Eating Disorders Association. "This NEDAwareness Week, we invite Every Body to Have a Seat at the Table. In a field where marginalized communities continue to be underrepresented, we welcome conversations on raising awareness, challenging systemic biases, and sharing stories from all backgrounds and experiences."
Eating Disorders in Culture & the Media
"Instead of putting our energy into thinking about how we can improve the world, we obsess about how we can change our bodies."- Linda Bacon, Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight
The fashion industry, beauty pageants, movies, and social media can glamorise eating disorders. Media representation can also play a big part in glamorising eating disorders, by exposing young people to certain body image types, and fuelling negative comparisons. That puts networks like Instagram and TikTok in a position of significant influence in this respect. In line with this, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok have this week outlined new initiatives as part of NEDA Week, including new support tools and resources to help users who may be experiencing issues.
From now on, Instagram will show users "contacts for local eating disorders hotlines in certain countries, such as Beat in the UK, National Eating Disorder Information Centre in Canada, and Butterfly Foundation in Australia, as well as new advice on how to build body confidence that we built in partnership with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) in the US." In addition to this, Instagram is now working with influencers and community leaders throughout the week to distribute Reels that encourage body positivity.
Across social media, the subtle promotion of eating disorders is a major concern, especially for younger, more impressionable users, which makes these initiatives even more important. Anything that can be done to reduce the impact of the media is a positive step in the right direction- while a larger and more effective push could see more clear labelling on any media content which features or references modified body images, eating disorders, or such related content. Why does National Eating Disorder Awareness Week matter?
Eating disorders are the deadliest of mental illnesses according to ANAD; "eating disorders are among the deadliest mental illnesses, second only to opioid overdose." Overall, they affect at least 9% of the population worldwide (though the actual percentage is estimated to be much higher due to lack of research and difficulty of diagnosis and/ or admittance of an eating disorder).
Without treatment, up to 20% of people with an eating disorder will die. With treatment, the mortality rate falls to 2-3%. Resources available to sufferers of an eating disorder are too scarce to often be of help, and many fear the stigma around eating disorders, so never reach out for guidance. This National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, the goal is to "welcome conversations on raising awareness, challenging systemic biases, and sharing stories from all backgrounds and experiences" to reduce the stigma around eating disorders, and hopefully encourage those suffering to come forward, and find the help they need.
Help Resources
You can find advice, support, and information about eating disorders at:
