Key roles for coaches, social media crackdown in plan to tackle eating disorders

Sports coaches, trainers and dance teachers will be on the front line of the Victorian government’s new strategy to tackle eating disorders through early intervention.

The plan aims to identify eating disorders sooner, setting expectations that coaches will be taught to recognise warning signs and how to approach sensitive conversations.

Eating Disorders Victoria chief executive Belinda Caldwell lived the stress of caring for her daughter following her diagnosis with an eating disorder in 2011.Credit: Chris Hopkins

“Excessive exercise is linked to many eating disorders, and fitness environments can be key settings for prevention and early identification,” according to the strategy, which will be unveiled by Premier Jacinta Allan and Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt on Sunday.

The Sunday Age can also reveal that eating disorders will be a key focus for the state’s 15 mental health and wellbeing supports to make services more accessible to people over the age of 25, regardless of where they live. The free early intervention services do not require a referral from a GP.

This will complement an expected push for Headspace centres to support people aged 12 to 25, subject to Commonwealth funding. Creating a “front door” to treatment options was a key recommendation of Victoria’s mental health royal commission.

The strategy to combat eating disorders will also advocate for stronger social media standards, following Allan’s vow to push for age limits on platforms to protect children and help parents push back against the tech giants.

Eating Disorders Victoria chief executive Belinda Caldwell backed a crackdown on social media abuse, as weight stigma and thin idealism were rife online.

“Social media plays a really strong role not just in the journey into an eating disorder, but also significant challenges on the road to recovery,” Caldwell said.

“People are being bombarded with messaging about how much you should eat, how much you should exercise, what you should look like.”

Caldwell cared for her then-teenage daughter when she was diagnosed with an eating disorder in 2011.

The 16-year-old spent five weeks in hospital because her heart was so compromised. When she came home, her parents had to ensure she ate six meals a day.

“I had to sleep beside her,” Caldwell said. “I couldn’t work for five months, and then my husband stayed home for another four months.

“She was terrified of eating. It was like she was looking at a plate of snakes or spiders.”

In May, there was a weekly average of 32 presentations at Victorian emergency departments for eating disorders, a figure up from almost 23 a week in May last year. Changes to work and study, limited social connections and stressful environments during the COVID-19 pandemic are thought to be contributing factors.

The Department of Health estimates there were 297,500 Victorians with an eating disorder last financial year. Binge-eating comprised the majority of known cases (47 per cent), followed by bulimia nervosa (12 per cent) and anorexia nervosa (3 per cent).

More than 100 people with lived-experience of eating disorders – including their carers, families and supporters – were consulted as part of the state’s new strategy.

Consistent themes among those interviewed included the difficulties in navigating a complex system, the lack of holistic support and not feeling equipped to be a carer.

“I feel like I am treated not as a mental health patient, but an eating disorders patient, when it should be both,” one young adult with an eating disorder told the strategy’s authors.

Another respondent, whose story is also highlighted in the final plan seen by The Sunday Age, said: “All I was given was a one-page document with a meal plan before being told to go away and feed my child.”

‘All I was given was a one-page document with a meal plan before being told to go away and feed my child.’

A respondent quoted in the state government’s strategy

Caldwell said Victoria’s new strategy was a “game-changer”, particularly because it called for more peer-support programs.

“There were no resources for us [at the time]. No education provided. A lot of people get stuck at home and don’t understand what’s going on,” she said.

Experts say while more research is needed, eating disorders have a huge impact on the economy – about two-thirds of people with a disorder are of working age. One study this year estimated the state lost about $67 billion last year alone.

About 78 per cent of carers also face work losses or have to give up studies to care for their loved ones.

Women and girls are at a higher risk of experiencing an eating disorder. However, about 37 per cent of Australians with an eating disorder are men.

Allan said the strategy showed her government was listening to people with lived experiences.

“This will transform the way we deliver support – ensuring people get care in their own communities, close to their support networks and the people they love,” she said.

If you or someone you know is experiencing an eating disorder, support is available by calling Eating Disorders Victoria on 1300 550 236 or visiting eatingdisorders.org.au.

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