University of Worcester student researching impact of eating disorders on men
George Mycock says it's vital those dealing with eating concerns and behaviours can reach out for support
A university student in Worcester says it's important more is done to help those affected by eating disorders, after suffering from eating concerns and behaviours himself.
Last week the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) released a report calling for a national strategy for eating disorders with funding to meet demand and the establishment of a confidential inquiry into eating disorder-related deaths.
The APPG said its report highlights how "too many are being failed" and the "widespread neglect" within eating disorder services.
George Mycock is a full-time PhD student at the University of Worcester, with his main research centring around muscularity oriented psychosocial issues.
He says he suffered with his body image after being forced to stop playing rugby during his teenage years, which led to him developing eating concerns and behaviours.
"I was at the point where I was basically starving myself and exercising multiple times a day," he said.
"One thing I was doing was kind of restricting my food and exercising more as a way to try and lose weight quicker, and that led to me getting complimented more.
I started becoming so stressed and so rigid around food and what I'd convinced myself over time was that it was all down to me, it was all down to my ability to stick to these kind of progressively more extreme behaviours."
George says his eating behaviour then started to move towards trying to gain muscle, which led to some complications because he was so scared of getting body fat.
He says it's vital more is done to make sure everyone can access the support they need on the issue and people can feel as though they can reach out for that help.
"This report which has been published and and spoken about is basically calling for this kind of cemented strategy and how we're going to fix eating disorders, so to speak or some way that we're going to work on it.
"My research is looking at what it is that might be stopping men from accessing care for these concerns because for me, my whole experience was around this wanting to show masculinity, and it is for a lot of men that we see in the research.
"That's so off putting and scary, and it creates this idea that I wouldn't want to identify with being someone who's seeking help for that."
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."