{"id":51319,"date":"2021-03-01T00:05:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T00:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=51319"},"modified":"2021-03-01T07:59:40","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T07:59:40","slug":"almost-half-those-who-binge-eat-say-the-disorder-is-not-taken-seriously-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/03\/01\/almost-half-those-who-binge-eat-say-the-disorder-is-not-taken-seriously-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Almost half those who binge eat say the disorder is not taken seriously enough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Illness faces ‘severe stigma and misunderstanding’ from healthcare professionals, says charity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A SURVEY by eating disorder charity Beat has found that almost half of binge-eating disorder sufferers feel their illness is not taken seriously by healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To improve awareness about binge eating disorder, Beat has made the illness the focus of this year\u2019s Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which starts today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the UK, it is estimated that about 1.25 million people have an eating disorder, with roughly 22% suffering from binge eating disorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beat ambassador, Zoe John, has struggled with several eating disorders since the age of 14, including a period of binge-eating in her early 20s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a strange addiction,\u201d she said, \u201cYou\u2019re always thinking about what, when, how.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoe did not receive any professional help, and her binge eating disorder emerged in part from her attempt to recover from bulimia on her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would still binge but not purge, which was really difficult to come to terms with because suddenly you\u2019re gaining a lot of weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to be kind to yourself, which – especially if you\u2019re not receiving the necessary help – can be really hard to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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