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Blog posted by: Craig Myers, 20 April 2023 – Categories: A Modern Civil Service, A Skilled Civil Service, An Ambitious Civil Service.

The theme of the 2023 Eating Disorders Awareness Week was ‘men’ to underline the damaging impacts of eating disorders often endured by them. 

Warning: This blog discusses eating disorders so it might be triggering for some people. If you need support, please make use of your department’s wellbeing resources or visit the UK’s leading eating disorders charity, Beat, to access their services.

Contrary to the common belief that eating disorders only impact women, at least 25% of the estimated 1.25-3.4 million people in the UK with eating disorders are men. We don’t talk about this enough. 

But it’s not just those with eating disorders that need and deserve support. There are 4-5 million people in the UK indirectly affected through supporting and caring responsibilities, and the impacts on those people are tough and enduring too. We don’t talk about this enough.

Craig Myers, Deputy Director, Department for Education

Well, I want to get us talking by sharing my experience as a father to a child with anorexia. 

We all have stories about the challenges of the COVID pandemic – from missing crucial months seeing loved ones to the stresses of juggling home schooling with work. Mine includes the trauma of my daughter, who had just started secondary school, suffering from anorexia. 

It was surreal to watch my bubbly young girl who ate freely with enjoyment, become so anxious, withdrawn, and bullied by restrictive “food rules”. For weeks my wife and I kept checking ourselves as to whether this was happening; unsure if and how to open a discussion. 

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