Bristol eating disorder campaigner says report highlights need for change
An report has revealed some patients are being denied treatment for being "too thin"
Last updated 22nd Jan 2025
An eating disorder campaigner in Bristol says she hopes a new report into how the condition is treated in UK will bring about change.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on eating disorders has launched a report highlighting the "widespread neglect within eating disorder services" across the UK.
Eating disorders are among the most serious, potentially life-threatening and life-altering mental illnesses, but reports says they "have been overlooked and underfunded for far too long".
The APPG says, consequently, eating disorders represent one of the largest treatment gaps in modern healthcare.
Bristol's Hope Virgo, a campaigner and Secretariat of the APPG, said: “Over the last few years, the situation for those affected by eating disorders has worsened. People are being denied treatment for being ‘too thin,’ ‘too sick,’ ‘not sick enough,’ or are being labelled ‘untreatable,’ despite clear evidence that people with eating disorders can and do recover."
"The fact that individuals are being discharged with BMIs under 15 is absolutely unacceptable and a complete injustice.
"We are sending people home to die. The question we must ask is: why, in the face of overwhelming need, are we still ignoring this crisis?”
In the past decade, there has been an alarming rise in eating disorders, a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The reports also highlights public perception of eating disorders remains narrow, often reduced to a stereotype of a teenage, emaciated white female, but that only represents part of the reality.
Over the past six months, the APPG on Eating Disorders has met with patients, families, clinicians, and researchers.
Stories include children as young as four being diagnosed with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) but unable to access specialist support, families losing loved ones due to systemic neglect, and professionals struggling to provide life-saving treatment in an underfunded and overwhelmed environment.
Key Recommendations:
- National Strategy: Develop a comprehensive national strategy for eating disorders for both adults and young people, with adequate funding to meet demand.
- Service Reform: Ensure all individuals with eating disorders can access timely, evidence-based treatment.
- Confidential Enquiry: Establish a confidential enquiry into eating disorder-related deaths.
- Research Investment: Allocate significant funding for research into eating disorders to improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment outcomes.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request to hospital trusts across the country revealed instances of patients discharged with BMIs as low as 13, often justified by claims that individuals "did not want to get well."
According to DSM-5 criteria, a BMI under 15 signifies extreme severity, while ICD-11 highlights that a BMI below 14 in anorexia nervosa is associated with severe underweight, high risk of physical complications, and substantially increased mortality. MEED states that a BMI below 13 indicates a high impending risk to life.
The FOI also exposes what the report calls "a postcode lottery" in the availability and quality of eating disorder services across the UK, with some regions exhibiting particularly high discharge rates at dangerously low BMIs.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It’s unacceptable that people suffering from eating disorders are not receiving the standard of care they deserve.
“Clinical guidance is clear that decisions on discharge should never be made based solely on weight or BMI, however we want to go further to support those with mental health issues, including eating disorders.
"Our 10 Year Health Plan will improve access to essential mental health services including giving an additional 380,000 patients access to the NHS Talking Therapies programme, recruiting an extra 8,500 adult and child mental health staff and providing access to mental health support in every school.”