Eating Disorders

Identify and understand the possible causes of eating disorders, as well what signs to look out for. This course is suitable for everyone.

Introduction

Eating disorders are serious mental health illnesses that affect approximately 1.6 million people in the UK. Those who experience eating disorders are driven by an abnormal fear of becoming overweight.

They can affect anyone at any time for any reason, although they are 7 to 10 times more common in women than in men.

Eating disorders are not glamorous, nor are they the result of glamorisation through the worlds of fashion or celebrity. Although social pressures may contribute to a disorder, they are rarely the cause. 

Here is a definition of ‘eating disorders’:

An eating disorder is when you have an unhealthy attitude to food, which can take over your life and make you ill. It can involve eating too much or too little or becoming obsessed with your weight and body shape. But there are treatments that can help, and you can recover from an eating disorder. Men and women of any age can get an eating disorder, but they most commonly affect young women aged 13 to 17 years old.