Eating disorders are rife in our culture, and one of the biggest risk factors for developing an eating disorder is following an extreme diet. This means a diet that, for example, leaves out or minimises a food group (fat or carbs); is extremely low calories (eg 1200 calories); separates a person from being able to eat with family or socially; or cuts out animal products (vegan or vegetarian diet). While some people can do these things without developing an eating disorder, they are red flags and make a person 12-18x more likely to develop an eating disorder.

Other risk factors are so common that we may not even recognise them as risk factors for an eating disorder. For example, it is common to have an unhealthy body image. This means hating one’s body for how it looks. Weight stigma is also so common, and subtle criticism by others- family, social groups and the media- can cause an intense body dissatisfaction feeling, leading to damaging behaviours.

Binge eating is always associated with food restriction. So many of my women clients are trying to lose weight but struggle with binge eating, which is terrible for their self-esteem. They feel they have no willpower, so there must be something wrong or weak about them.

However if you try to eat too little, your body will override your willpower. …….