Last night's BBC Panorama programme was about men, boys and eating disorders. On the whole it was an excellent programme even though, for some unknown reason, they didn't mention the charity Men Get Eating Disorders Too. All the way through I found myself nodding my head. It all sounded so depressingly familiar: the typical symptoms, the lack of awareness from GPs and other medical professionals, BMIs still dictating access to treatment, long waiting lists while the patient gets even more sick, problems of accessing treatment for the 18+ age group, stock responses from NHS trusts that had failed patients, lack of Government investment, needless deaths... and the 'icing on the cake', Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt declining to appear on the programme to comment...
It seems that very little has changed since my son first fell sick with anorexia eight years ago.
This sad state of affairs... no, this DISGRACEFUL state of affairs had me despairing.
Basically it seems as if nobody gives a toss.
Nobody gives a flying you-know-what about eating disorders, not just in men and boys but in girls and women, too.
Nobody gave a flying you-know-what when my son fell sick eight years ago and they still don't today.
Sorry to be blunt, but it's true.
Looking for information on eating disorders in boys? Worried that your son has an eating disorder? How can you tell if a boy has an eating disorder? In 2009 my 15-year-old son developed anorexia. Now, aged 28, he is recovered & studying psychology in order to help others. This blog tells the story of my son's recovery from anorexia as well as raising awareness of eating disorders in boys.
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