What is an eating disorder?

An eating disorder is a mental illness where you use food to manage your feelings. This may be eating too much or too little. You may become obsessed with food and your eating patterns.

It’s estimated that there are 725,000 people in the UK living with an eating disorder and anyone can develop an eating disorder, irrespective of age, gender, cultural or racial background

Eating disorders aren’t just about food. They can be about difficult or painful feelings which you are finding hard to face. Focusing on food can be a way of masking these problems, even from yourself.