“Concerns about disordered eating in children and adolescents should not preclude appropriate action on childhood obesity.”
Extract from Medical Journal of Australia
I share the concerns of eating disorder advocate, Chevese Turner, about an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia. The article is titled: Childhood obesity in Australia remains a widespread health concern that warrants population-wide prevention programs.
Chevese, CEO and Founder of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) in the United States, states:
“This irresponsible statement should be addressed. I know that many “obesity experts” feel the same here in the States. One of the things that we are beginning to say is ‘Eating Disorders are NOT rare’. The numbers back up this statement and are growing.
“I am just exhausted by being told continually that obesity is more important because it is so prevalent and eating disorders are so rare. I don’t think that 25 million adults (number does not include children/adolescents) in the US alone is rare. These folks are sorely misinformed.”
Figures on eating disorder incidence in Australia are equally compelling. We need to give them more voice. A lot more voice. Why? Because the price of being complacent is too great.
In 2012 Deloitte Access Economics was commissioned by The Butterfly Foundation to assess the economic and social costs of eating disorders in Australia. The work of the Deloitte team was supported by an advisory panel of experts in eating disorders, mental health, and population health.
The resultant report , “Paying the Price: economic and social impact of eating disorders” is the first of its kind for eating disorder in Australia, identifying prevalence, financial costs, and the productivity and societal impact of the many Australians suffering these mental illnesses. The figures in the report are estimated to be conservative.