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Price of eating disorders too high, for too many

Teenage Girl Visits Doctor's Office Suffering With Depression
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SANE Australia welcomes the release of a ground-breaking report which, for the first time in Australia, identifies the prevalence, financial costs and impact of eating disorders on the lives of almost one million Australians.

‘The Paying the Price report is a significant document which shines a light on an area of mental illness that for too long has been lacking in understanding and resourcing,’ says Jack Heath, CEO of SANE Australia.

The report, commissioned by the Butterfly Foundation, estimates that the mortality rates are almost twice as high for people with eating disorders as in the general population.

Deloitte Access Economics, who produced the report for the Butterfly Foundation, estimates that up to 1,828 deaths will occur in Australia this year alone, from eating disorders.

‘The Butterfly Foundation has worked tirelessly to provide support for those who suffer from eating disorders and negative body image issues. It urgently needs additional government funding and greater community support to tackle these serious mental illnesses,’ Mr Heath adds.

According to SANE Australia’s CEO, there is an enormous lack of knowledge surrounding negative body image and eating disorders.

‘The media can play an important role in raising awareness and de-stigmatising mental illness, including eating disorders’, he says. ‘This can be a challenging area, but thankfully the Mindframe National Media Initiative has developed a compact resource (Mindframe Guidelines) to support journalists to accurately and sensitively portray eating disorders.’


(Source: SANE Australia)


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Dates

Posted On: 12 December, 2012
Modified On: 11 March, 2014

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