Treat eating disorders as an emergency, MPs urge

Lives are being lost and families torn apart because of “woefully inadequate care” for people with eating disorders, according to a group of MPs.

The “alarming” rise in disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, over the past decade, has now become an “emergency”, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eating Disorders says in a report.

And greater awareness about different types of eating disorders and how they affect males and females of all ages and ethnicities is urgently needed.

NHS England acknowledged services were under extreme pressure but said all mental-health trusts now offered teenagers and young people early help.

‘Eating nothing’

At 13, Olimata Taal responded to issues at home by denying herself food and over-exercising.
It was the only thing she felt she could control.

“Eating healthier quickly became eating less, to eating nothing,” Olimata says.

“I remember literally feeling like a shell of a human.

“I remember having to take multiple baths a day, because my body literally couldn’t keep itself warm.”
Some teachers suspected something was wrong but failed to intervene.

And when Olimata first saw a GP, she was told to just “eat a muffin”.

‘Survivor’s guilt’

Now 27, Olimata says her mixed Gambian and English heritage added another layer of complexity to her experience.
“A huge part of African culture, in my experience, is about being strong, being strong-minded,” she says.

“I didn’t see anyone who looked like me going through an eating disorder.”

After she was diagnosed with anorexia, Olimata went on to receive consistent support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs), which “saved her life”, although she still feels “survivor’s guilt”.

But because she did not want to lose that support, sometimes she felt no incentive to get better.

‘Grossly’ underfunded

The MPs spent six months listening to “harrowing” experiences from patients, bereaved families, clinicians and academics.

Eating disorders are often misunderstood and seen as a lifestyle choice affecting only white teenage girls, the report says.

In reality, they are serious but treatable mental illnesses.