If we are serious about protecting young people, education must become part of the solution not another place where eating disorders are missed, misunderstood, or worsened. Across schools, colleges and universities, staff described feeling underprepared to identify eating disorders or respond safely when concerns arise. Young people and families shared experiences of harmful misunderstandings, delayed support, and environments where diet culture and weight-focused messaging c

Why are we still quoting 1.25 million? The UK’s eating disorder data problem. For years, one figure has dominated the conversation around eating disorders in the UK: 1.25 million people affected. It’s been widely used in media, policy discussions, and public awareness campaigns. The UK is facing a far larger eating disorder crisis than we are currently acknowledging, and until we fix the data, we will continue to fall short on action.

Why we made the Dump The Scales film? Over the last few years people affected by eating disorders have been faced with neglectful care, people have been crying out for help and denied support but still we have seen little to no action on really tackling the epidemic of eating disorders. People are still being told they’re “not sick enough” or “too complex”, being discharged too early and in too many cases they’re dying.

Right now, across the UK, people with eating disorders are being denied care, turned away from services, and left to become more unwell. Some are dying. Not because recovery isn’t possible but because the system is failing them. This has to change.

The importance of disability-informed eating disorder treatment and the impact of ableism and internalised ableism: A lived-experience perspective

Anna Carnegie, researcher and person with lived experience of eating disorders and OCD writes about the positives she took away from Eating Disorder Treatment