Eating disorders in London have risen by 56% in the last six years and health services providers of the NHS are having issues with coping due to the high demand in help.

Londons assembly health committee have conducted a report which shows a staggering rise in eating disorder patients among adults, adolescent and children.

According to priory group statistics, between 1.25 and 3.4 million people in the uk are affected by an eating disorder, eating disorders can develop in children as young as 6 and in adults in their 70s.

Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder (BED) and other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED), are responsible for more loss of life than any other mental health condition.

Young people are also becoming more prone to being apart of pro-eating disorder online communities that influence and support the affects of the disorders in people.

-Below is a screenshot of our Journalism twitter page, it has a photo of eating disorder booklets that were given to me by a pharmacists at the Cospharm pharmacy on 281-283 Mitcham Rd, London SW17 9JQ

Photo above: screenshot of our twitter pages and my post on supporting those in need of help

They share ideas with other like‐minded individuals on how to lose weight and  otherwise maintain the symptoms of the disorder.

Priory group statistics also say that 25% of males are affected by sleeping disorders.

This is becoming such a prevalent issue in  London that its worrying the London Assembly’s health chair Dr Onkar Sahota who is aware of the pro-eating disorder online communities.

I interviewed a clinical psychologist, Charlie Maguire-King , who’s had a few patients who suffer with eating disorders and  reiterates the percentage of men similarly to the priory groups statistics.

”Slightly different picture when it comes to teenagers at school”

                                   ”People are feeling more fragmented, and theirs a feeling of separation and disunion” 

As well as the NHS service providers going through struggles over the amount of eating disorder cases rising, its a bigger weight on those who are actually suffering with the symptoms of the disorder and it isn’t as easy to tell or help because eating disorders are a mental issue.

Issues that occur ”mentally” are harder to see problem-wise, although eating disorders carry misconceptions of how it may present itself.

Anyone you know personally could be suffering through this and not speaking up about it.

Referring back to priory groups statistics, 25% of men having the disorder, which is another misconception regarding the ”face” of the disorder. I interviewed a young gentlemen TJ Watts.

Tj gives a first hand explanation of his experience with the disorder and how he’s coped.

Eating disorders are becoming a major issue in London.

Could it be that the changes over the last couple of year since covid has caused people to find ways of ”control” in food like TJ said or has their always been an on going crises swept under the rug  with the people of Londons mental health which we are now seeing a peak of.