Hi my name is Belle, I’m 19F

 

TW as below I will include some graphic images of my during my eating disorder, I no longer have images from me at my worst but they are still graphic. 

While I understand why calories were introduced to menus a few years ago but this is not doing what was intended by this decision. It has a massive impact on people with eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, making recovery from these deadly illnesses much harder. 

I myself have suffered from anorexia nervosa from roughly the age of 13, becoming severe between the ages of 15 and 18 requiring multiple hospitalisations and psychiatric hospital stays to keep me alive in this time. During these stays I met other people as young as 9 suffering and completely lost in the grips of an ED. This is something I still must battle everyday and has left my body with potentially permanent damage.  

Approximately 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder. Around 25% of those affected by an eating disorder are male. And these are just people diagnosed, not total sufferers.

Recent research from the NHS information centre showed that up to 6.4% of adults displayed signs of an eating disorder (Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, 2007)
79% of all diagnosed eating disorders are some form of restrictive eating disorder. 

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder, from medical complications associated with the illness as well as suicide. Research suggests that around 46% of anorexia patients fully recover, a 33% improving and 20% remaining chronically ill. Similar research into bulimia suggests that 45% make a full recovery, 27% improve considerably and 23% suffer chronically. Eating disorders are on the rise effecting people as young as 6 years old and as old as in their 70’s. 

I believe that restaurant menus should have their standard menus without calories and to get the ones with calories at the customers request as this would stop people with eating disorders and potentially children from being bombarded with information that could have such extensive damage to their mental and physical health. Those suffering should have to deal with the extra challenge or being faced with this when trying to enjoy food and situations with food involved, it is hard enough without this added implication. We are already fighting against odds and when we are trying to recover from such destructive disorders the last thing we need is something making it even more challenging. Being able to request a menu with calories would mean people who are intentionally watching what they eat can still do so thus still fighting obesity (which was the original goal). We must act now before the prevalence of eating disorders gets any higher and we lose more innocent souls to such cruel fates,  I’m sure each and every one  of you reading this knows someone effected by disordered eating of some kind. 

Me at 15

 

 

 

 

 

Me 16-18