Eating disorder charity calls for media review

This week eating disorder charity beat are running Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW), during which they hope to reduce the stigma associated with having an eating disorder, starting with calling for new guidelines into media reporting.

In a survey carried out by the charity it was revealed that of the 1,000 individuals surveyed, 86 per cent felt that images of excessively thin people in the media were damaging, 60 per cent found that media images adversely impacted their self esteem, 70 per cent found their body image was affected and 47 per cent said that media images prevented their recovery.

Though Beat acknowledges that media coverage has become more accurate and compassionate over the past few years, the charity still want to do something about the images used to illustrate eating disorders in the media. More often than not, images feature excessive thinness, distorting people’s idea of what an eating disorder is truly like.

Beat wants the media to be more truthful about eating disorders and has called for them to stop using images of emancipation to represent them.

The Press Complaints Commission has told Beat that they will look at introducing a guidelines on these issues in the Editor’s Code of Conduct which is soon to be reviewed.

For further information about eating disorders please visit our fact-sheet.

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