PETITION: Recognise Eating Disorders in UK Health Policy
Eating disorders remain absent from UK health policy, and are left a casualty of the NHS Long Term Plan.
Obesity is consistently described as “the epidemic of our time.” Yet the UK is facing not one epidemic, but two. Hospital admissions for eating disorders have risen by over 120% in the past decade, waiting times now exceed three years, and anorexia remains the deadliest psychiatric condition.
Eating disorders don’t just sit alongside the obesity agenda, but are entangled with it - and are often exacerbated by obesity-centric interventions. By overlooking EDs, current health policy risks compounding the very public health crisis it seeks to address.
This petition has been launched to mobilise collective voices and press for recognition of eating disorders as a parallel health crisis alongside obesity, and as a non-negotiable necessity in UK health policy.
Please read, share, add your name, and join the call for change.
We’re working with Beat, the UK’s leading eating disorder charity, to develop specialist training for gyms and fitness professionals. The programme will equip staff to recognise early warning signs, approach concerns with compassion, and signpost people to the right support.
Work with Beat’s training team is already underway - reviewing existing materials, shaping them into a programme tailored for the fitness sector, and calculating the budget required to bring it to life. That’s why this fundraiser is so vital.
Your donation will directly fund the development of this training, the creation of supporting resources, and the launch of pilot projects - paving the way for a dedicated training package for gyms and fitness staff, designed to safeguard those at risk and equip professionals to recognise, respond, and signpost with care.
Fundraiser: eating disorder training FOR GYM & FITNESS STAFF
Your support makes prevention possible.